Localization cues with bilateral cochlear implants

Selected subjects with bilateral cochlear implants (CIs) showed excellent horizontal localization of wide-band sounds in previous studies. The current study investigated localization cues used by two bilateral CI subjects with outstanding localization ability. The first experiment studied localization for sounds of different spectral and temporal composition in the free field. Localization of wide-band noise was unaffected by envelope pulsation, suggesting that envelope-interaural time difference (ITD) cues contributed little. Low-pass noise was not localizable for one subject and localization depended on the cutoff frequency for the other which suggests that ITDs played only a limited role. High-pass noise with slow envelope changes could be localized, in line with contribution of interaural level differences (ILDs). In experiment 2, processors of one subject were raised above the head to void the head shadow. If they were spaced at ear distance, ITDs allowed discrimination of left from right for a pulsed wide-band noise. Good localization was observed with a head-sized cardboard inserted between processors, showing the reliance on ILDs. Experiment 3 investigated localization in virtual space with manipulated ILDs and ITDs. Localization shifted predominantly for offsets in ILDs, even for pulsed high-pass noise. This confirms that envelope ITDs contributed little and that localization with bilateral CIs was dominated by ILDs.