Estudo comparativo de discriminação de listas de palavras e frases efectuadas em voz viva e através de telefone em pacientes com implante coclear

Using the telephone in everyday communication and social interaction allows the profoundly deaf implanted pacient to increase his independence and self-esteem. Being able to perform this task means having the hability to discriminate speech without lip reading or any other cue. The present paper aims to evaluate speech discrimination limitations in cochlear implant users performing through telephone. 70 patients with cochlear implant using the speech processor for more than 4 months were evaluated. They were divided in two groups: group 1 states using the telephone and group two states not using it. The results show no statistical differences in free field tonal threshold with cochlear implant between both groups. Regarding speech discrimination tests, there is statistical difference between both groups, having group 1 a better performance. When comparing the sentences and word discrimination tests’ results in free field and through telephone, the performance is better in free field.