Four scala tympani implant subjects, two with multiple‐electrode prostheses and two with single‐electrode implants, were tested with a single‐channel wearable sound processor after 0–8 months' use. A comparison between pre‐ and post‐implant scores on the Minimal Auditory Capabilities (MAC) Test showed little difference, except that all subjects improved on the postoperative lipreading test when electrical stimulation was added (“aided” condition). Improvement was noted in aided over unaided performance on videotaped tests, including a medial consonant test, two‐digit numerals test, and an open set sentence test. Subjects showed a two‐ to fourfold increase in speech tracking rates in the aided over the unaided condition. These baseline observations indicate that subjects quickly begin to experience improvement in face‐to‐face communication skills even during the first months of using a single‐channel cochlear prosthesis. [Work supported by NIH.]