Vibrotactile Stimulation Based on the Fundamental Frequency Can Improve Melodic Contour Identification of Normal-Hearing Listeners With a 4-Channel Cochlear Implant Simulation

Cochlear implant (CI) users’ poor speech recognition in noise and music perception may be both due to their limited access to pitch cues such as the fundamental frequency (F0). Recent studies showed that similar to residual low-frequency acoustic hearing, vibrotactile presentation of the F0 significantly improved speech recognition in noise of CI users. The present study tested whether F0-based vibrotactile stimulation can improve melodic...