Evaluation of Two Self-Fitting User Interfaces for Bimodal CI-Recipients
Smartphones are increasingly being used to enable patients to play an active role in managing their own health through applications, also called apps. The latest generation of sound processors for cochlear implants offer Bluetooth connectivity that makes it possible to connect smartphones or tablets...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-07-01
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| Series: | Applied Sciences |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/13/14/8411 |
| _version_ | 1797590368608321536 |
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| author | Sven Kliesch Josef Chalupper Thomas Lenarz Andreas Büchner |
| author_facet | Sven Kliesch Josef Chalupper Thomas Lenarz Andreas Büchner |
| author_sort | Sven Kliesch |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Smartphones are increasingly being used to enable patients to play an active role in managing their own health through applications, also called apps. The latest generation of sound processors for cochlear implants offer Bluetooth connectivity that makes it possible to connect smartphones or tablets and thus enable patients to modify their hearing sensation or measure system parameters. However, to achieve a high adoption rate and secure operation of these applications, it is necessary to design intuitive user interfaces (UI) for end users. The main goal of the current study was to evaluate the usability of two different UIs. A second goal was to compare the hearing outcomes based on the patient’s adjustments. The two different UIs were explored in a group of adult and older adult bimodal cochlear-implant users, with adjustments possible for both the cochlear implant and the contralateral hearing aid. One of the UIs comprised a classical equalizer and volume-dial approach, while the second UI followed a 2D-Surface concept, to manipulate the corresponding sound parameters. The participants changed their fitting parameters using both UIs in seven different sound scenes. The self-adjusted settings for the different scenarios were stored and recalled at a later stage for direct comparison. To enable an assessment of reliability and reproducibility, the self-adaptation was also repeated for two of the seven sound scenes. Within minutes, the participants became accustomed to the concept of both UIs and generated their own parameter settings. Both UIs resulted in settings that could be considered similar in terms of spontaneous acceptance and sound quality. Furthermore, both UIs showed high reliability in the test–retest procedure. The time required for adjustment was significantly shorter with the 2D-Surface UI. A closer look at the bimodal aspect shows that participants were able to compensate for differences in loudness and frequencies between the cochlear implant and the hearing aid. The blind comparison test showed that self-adjustment led to a higher acceptance of the sound perception in more than 80% of the cases. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T01:19:28Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-5413fc6a0bfa4e32b09976974b37709d |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-3417 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T01:19:28Z |
| publishDate | 2023-07-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Applied Sciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-5413fc6a0bfa4e32b09976974b37709d2023-11-18T18:12:44ZengMDPI AGApplied Sciences2076-34172023-07-011314841110.3390/app13148411Evaluation of Two Self-Fitting User Interfaces for Bimodal CI-RecipientsSven Kliesch0Josef Chalupper1Thomas Lenarz2Andreas Büchner3Department of Otolaryngology, Medical School of Hannover, 30625 Hannover, GermanyAdvanced Bionics, European Research Center, Feodor-Lynen-Str. 35, 30625 Hannover, GermanyDepartment of Otolaryngology, Medical School of Hannover, 30625 Hannover, GermanyDepartment of Otolaryngology, Medical School of Hannover, 30625 Hannover, GermanySmartphones are increasingly being used to enable patients to play an active role in managing their own health through applications, also called apps. The latest generation of sound processors for cochlear implants offer Bluetooth connectivity that makes it possible to connect smartphones or tablets and thus enable patients to modify their hearing sensation or measure system parameters. However, to achieve a high adoption rate and secure operation of these applications, it is necessary to design intuitive user interfaces (UI) for end users. The main goal of the current study was to evaluate the usability of two different UIs. A second goal was to compare the hearing outcomes based on the patient’s adjustments. The two different UIs were explored in a group of adult and older adult bimodal cochlear-implant users, with adjustments possible for both the cochlear implant and the contralateral hearing aid. One of the UIs comprised a classical equalizer and volume-dial approach, while the second UI followed a 2D-Surface concept, to manipulate the corresponding sound parameters. The participants changed their fitting parameters using both UIs in seven different sound scenes. The self-adjusted settings for the different scenarios were stored and recalled at a later stage for direct comparison. To enable an assessment of reliability and reproducibility, the self-adaptation was also repeated for two of the seven sound scenes. Within minutes, the participants became accustomed to the concept of both UIs and generated their own parameter settings. Both UIs resulted in settings that could be considered similar in terms of spontaneous acceptance and sound quality. Furthermore, both UIs showed high reliability in the test–retest procedure. The time required for adjustment was significantly shorter with the 2D-Surface UI. A closer look at the bimodal aspect shows that participants were able to compensate for differences in loudness and frequencies between the cochlear implant and the hearing aid. The blind comparison test showed that self-adjustment led to a higher acceptance of the sound perception in more than 80% of the cases.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/13/14/8411cochlear implantsself-fittinguser interfacesbimodalsmartphone application |
| spellingShingle | Sven Kliesch Josef Chalupper Thomas Lenarz Andreas Büchner Evaluation of Two Self-Fitting User Interfaces for Bimodal CI-Recipients Applied Sciences cochlear implants self-fitting user interfaces bimodal smartphone application |
| title | Evaluation of Two Self-Fitting User Interfaces for Bimodal CI-Recipients |
| title_full | Evaluation of Two Self-Fitting User Interfaces for Bimodal CI-Recipients |
| title_fullStr | Evaluation of Two Self-Fitting User Interfaces for Bimodal CI-Recipients |
| title_full_unstemmed | Evaluation of Two Self-Fitting User Interfaces for Bimodal CI-Recipients |
| title_short | Evaluation of Two Self-Fitting User Interfaces for Bimodal CI-Recipients |
| title_sort | evaluation of two self fitting user interfaces for bimodal ci recipients |
| topic | cochlear implants self-fitting user interfaces bimodal smartphone application |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/13/14/8411 |
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