A Computational Approach to Optimal Deactivation of Cochlear Implant Electrodes

A Computational Approach to Optimal Deactivation of Cochlear Implant Electrodes

The goal of the present study is to use computationally driven models of speech understanding in cochlear implant (CI) users to guide the search for which combination of active electrodes can yield the best speech understanding for a specific patient. It is hypothesized that model-recommended settings will result in significantly better speech understanding than standard-of-care settings.

Aim 1 is to quantify speech understanding and sound quality with model-recommended combinations of active electrodes compared to standard settings, and compared to two control active electrode combinations. Aim 2 is to translate the model-driven recommendations from Aim 1 into practical guidance about how many (and possibly which) CI electrodes to deactivate.

Inclusion Criteria:

Cochlear implant subjects

• must be older than the age of 18
• implanted unilaterally with CI with at least 1 year of experience
• no diagnosis of any other communicative or cognitive disorder.
• English-speaking
• willingness and ability to provide informed consent

Normal hearing subjects

• must be older than age of 18
• no diagnosis of any other communicative or cognitive disorder.
• English-speaking
• willingness and ability to provide informed consent

Exclusion Criteria:

not meeting the inclusion criteria above