Effect of Protective Face Coverings on Sentence Recognition in Noise for Cochlear Implant Patients.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to assess the influence of talker protective face coverings on sentence recognition in noise for cochlear implant users.

Method: The AzBio sentences were recorded in three conditions: (a) without any face covering (uncovered), (b) with an N95 mask, or (c) with an N95 mask plus face shield. Target sentences were presented at 60 dB SPL, and the 10-talker masker was presented at 50 dB SPL (10 dB signal-to-noise ratio. Speech recognition for these auditory stimuli was compared across conditions for 21 adult subjects with at least 6 months of cochlear implant (CI) use.

Results: Significant deterioration in sentence recognition was observed for the N95 plus face shield ( = 27% [IQR: 14%-35%]) compared with the N95 ( = 72% [IQR: 55%-78%]) condition and for the N95 compared to uncovered ( = 86% [IQR: 68%-91%]) condition.

Conclusions: Talker protective face coverings have a significant influence on speech recognition in noise for CI users. More research is needed to understand the influence of visual cues with protective face coverings that include a plastic component allowing visualization of the talker's face.

Supplemental Material: https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.19326395.