Musical Listening in Electric Hearing –Two Novel EEG Paradigms Studying Music Discrimination in Cochlear Implant Users - OMAI 2018- The 10th International Symposium on Objective Measures in Auditory Implants

Anne Sofie Friis Andersen ¹ Bjørn Petersen ¹ Martin Dietz ² Andreas Højlund ² Elvira Brattico ¹ Niels Trusbak Hauman ¹ Franck Michel ³ Søren Kamaric Riis ⁴ Peter Vuust ¹

¹Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University & The Royal Academy of Music Aarhus/Aalborg, Center for Music in the Brain, Aarhus, Denmark
²Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Center for Functionally Integrative Neuroscience, Aarhus, Denmark
³Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Clinic of Audiology, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark
⁴Technology Development, Oticon Medical, Smørum, Denmark

Music listening with a cochlear implant (CI) is challenging due to the poor representation of fine structure information. Therefore, extensive research has been initiated in the quest for improved music perception with a CI. To measure the music discrimination abilities of CI users, objective and feasible music tests are in demand. Hence, the purpose of this study was to design and test two novel musicals paradigms for use in future CI research. 1) A multifeature MMN paradigm presenting four deviants (pitch, intensity, timbre and rhythm) at four levels of magnitude in a no-standards configuration and 2) a free-listening paradigm presenting three ecological musical pieces.

To validate the paradigms, two groups of normal hearing participants were included and subjected to the tests: a group of young adults (N: 17, mean age 25) and a group of older adults (N: 14, mean age 63). The MMN paradigm elicited significant MMN responses for all deviants in both groups. Furthermore, MMN amplitude strengths were in accordance with the levels of deviance. Results from a supplementary behavioral measurement confirmed the overall findings of the MMN measurements. The free-listening paradigm elicited significant P2 responses for the musical features spectral flux, brightness, roughness and RMS. These results suggest encouraging potential for using the paradigm in future CI research.

The study is work in progress and so far, data from eight experienced and eight newly operated CI users have been collected. We expect preliminary results from these groups to be available for presentation at the conference.