A Computational Approach to Optimal Deactivation of Cochlear Implant Electrodes

NYU Langone Health

Status: Completed

Conditions: Hearing Loss

Treatments: Diagnostic Test: Cochlear implant Computer Model Implementation

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other; NIH

Identifiers

NCT05219474

21-01661

R21DC020293-01 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

Details and patient eligibility

About

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.

Full description

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.

Enrollment: 14 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18 to 90 years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

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

Trial design

Primary purpose: Treatment

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Crossover Assignment

Masking: Double Blind

---

14 participants in 2 patient groups

Cochlear implant subjects

Experimental group

Description:

Participates in 7 visits over a six-month duration. Subjects will be given several tests that require them to listen to sounds presented to their cochlear implant and answer questions about those sounds.

Treatment:

Diagnostic Test: Cochlear implant Computer Model Implementation

Normal hearing subjects

No Intervention group

Description:

Participates in 1 visit lasting 3 hours. Will be given several tests that require you to listen to sounds and answer questions about those sounds. The sounds will be distorted in ways that approximate how a cochlear implant sounds.