Novel Coding Strategies for Children With Cochlear Implants

Novel Coding Strategies for Children With Cochlear Implants

The purpose of this study is to understand performance with a cochlear implant. The long-term goals of this research are to improve sound perception with cochlear implants and to better understand the functioning of the auditory system. Information from individuals with and without cochlear implants will be compared.

The overall objectives of this research are to 1) gain a better understanding of fundamental psychophysical abilities with electrical stimulation as a function of age (child vs adult), age at onset of deafness (pre- vs post-lingual), and acoustic hearing (normal vs limited or residual); and 2) determine whether manipulations in CI coding strategies will improve psychophysical and speech recognition outcomes for early implanted children. This work is expected to provide new insights into the corresponding improvements in perceptual outcomes to these newer strategies have been modest at best and performance has begun to level off.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Be 7 years of age or older and pre-lingually implanted with a cochlear implant (before the age of 2 years), have aided residual hearing, or have normal hearing.
• Be ages 18 or older and post-lingually implanted or have normal hearing.
• Be ages 18-35 and pre-lingually implanted.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Any child implanted post-lingually