Exploring production-perception relationships in normal hearing and cochlear implant adults: A lip-tube perturbation study

Abstract

Is has been claimed that auditory feedback mechanisms enable monitoring and calibration of feedforward commands in speech production. Therefore, lack of auditory feedback may interfere with adequate compensation strategies in perturbed situations. This study investigates the effect of hearing status and a lip tube perturbation on vowel production. Eleven normal-hearing controls, and seventeen cochlear implant (CI) users (7 prelingually, 10 postlingually) were recorded during the production of the vowel /u/. Acoustic and articulatory analyses were conducted with and without a 15-mm-diam tube inserted between the lips. Recording sessions were also made before and after the perturbation, with and without auditory feedback. Deaf participants' auditory feedback was provided by the CI and interrupted by switching off their implant devices. Separate analyses were conducted on the acoustic parameters (first formant, second formant, and fundamental frequency) and on articulatory parameters. Results revealed a main effect of group and an interaction between condition and hearing status. Together, results suggest that auditory feedback plays an important role in speech compensation.