Assistive Listening Knowledge Base
  • Peer-reviewed study (repeated-measures, small sample)

Electromagnetic versus Electrical Coupling of Personal Frequency Modulation (FM) Receivers to Cochlear Implant Sound Processors

From https://assistivelisteningknowledgebase.org/evidence/schafer-2013/ · record checked 9 October 2026

  • Schafer EC, Romine D, Musgrave E, Momin S, Huynh C
  • Journal of the American Academy of Audiology 24(10):927-940

Independent (Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences, University of North Texas; PubMed tags the study as having non-US-government research support without naming it; the FM receivers tested were Oticon's)

Summary

A small study comparing a neckloop into a cochlear implant processor's telecoil with a directly connected receiver, for speech understanding in noise.

Key findings

  • Nine adolescents and adults used Advanced Bionics Harmony, Cochlear Nucleus 5 or MED-EL OPUS 2 processors (three each) with an Oticon neckloop FM receiver, which feeds the processor's telecoil, and with an Oticon receiver connected directly to the processor.
  • Both receivers gave significantly better speech recognition in noise than the implant alone. At the same gain setting, the neckloop gave significantly better speech recognition in noise, and better ratings in some situations, than the direct connection.
  • When each receiver's best gain setting was compared, the difference was no longer significant. Output measured through a Nucleus 5 differed between the two receivers at the same setting and matched when the direct receiver's gain was raised.
  • The authors attribute the result to the processor's different handling of direct input and telecoil input, and call for a more objective way to fit such systems to implant processors.

Limits

Read from the publisher's abstract only; the full text, including any funding statement, could not be read. Personal FM receivers, not venue systems; nine participants (seven in the second experiment); processors of 2013.

Read the original

www.thieme-connect.com/products/ejournals/abstract/10.3766/jaaa.24.10.5

Link checked . We link to the original and do not host copies.

Cited in

Cite this source

Schafer EC, Romine D, Musgrave E, Momin S, Huynh C. Electromagnetic versus Electrical Coupling of Personal Frequency Modulation (FM) Receivers to Cochlear Implant Sound Processors. Journal of the American Academy of Audiology 24(10):927-940. November 2013. https://www.thieme-connect.com/products/ejournals/abstract/10.3766/jaaa.24.10.5 (accessed 9 October 2026).

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