In recent years there has been an increasing percentage of cochlear implant (CI) users\nwho have usable residual hearing in the contralateral, nonimplanted ear, typically aided by acoustic\namplification. This raises the issue of the extent to which the signal presented through the\ncochlear implant may influence how listeners process information in the acoustically stimulated ear.\nThis multicenter retrospective study examined pre- to postoperative changes in speech perception\nin the nonimplanted ear, the implanted ear, and both together. Results in the latter two conditions\nshowed the expected increases, but speech perception in the nonimplanted ear showed a modest\nyet meaningful decrease that could not be completely explained by changes in unaided thresholds,\nhearing aid malfunction, or several other demographic variables. Decreases in speech perception in\nthe nonimplanted ear were more likely in individuals who had better levels of speech perception\nin the implanted ear, and in those who had better speech perception in the implanted than in the\nnonimplanted ear. This raises the possibility that, in some cases, bimodal listeners may rely on the\nhigher quality signal provided by the implant and may disregard or even neglect the input provided\nby the nonimplanted ear.
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