Present status and future development of the cochlear prosthesis

Presently devised single channel devices generate relatively primitive sensation of hearing. They provide some enhancement of communication skills for the totally deaf. Definite psychological advantages for the totally deaf have been observed. Pitch discrimination is by the mechanism of "periodicity pitch." No "place" pitch encoding is possible. The recognition of complex sounds is not possible. Multiple segments of auditory nerve must be stimulated in a manner which will stimulate the complex patterns of neural activity necessary for speech discrimination. Electrodes can be optimized and the pathophysiological consequences of electrical stimulation can be determined in experimental animals. The perceptual consequences of electrical stimulation, however, can best be determined in man himself. How much we will have to rely on known and future methods of aural rehabilitation will depend upon how well perceptual speech patterns can be generated by electrical stimulation of the auditory nerve.