Audiovisual Speech Perception in Aging Cochlear Implant Users and Age-Matched Nonimplanted Adults

The results of the current investigation suggest that CI users, like age-matched non-CI users, rely on multisensory integration more as they age. Older CI users may benefit more from audiovisual input than older non-CI users. These perceptual benefits grant older CI users the capacity to identify audiovisual speech to a degree of accuracy closer to that of older non-CI users, despite deficits in the auditory perception of CI users. As a result, the successful use of a CI device may partially depend on the ability of a CI user to integrate information they see with information available from their device, and older CI users may depend on visual input more to successfully use their CI.