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Updated: Oct 5, 2025
Electrically Evoked Stapedius Reflex Measurements in Cochlear Implantation and Its Application in the Postoperative Fitting Process
Published on: June 21, 2024
Facial nerve stimulation in cochlear implant users - a matter of stimulus parameters?
Lutz Gärtner1, Thomas Lenarz1, Jurgita Ivanauskaite1
1Department of Otolaryngology, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany.
Objectives:
To describe the influence of stimulus parameters on aberrant facial nerve stimulation in cochlear implant users.
Methods:
Retrospective case series (three ears - two patients). Cochlear implant patients with severe facial nerve stimulation and degraded speech comprehension who underwent re-implantation with Neuro Zti EVO (Oticon Medical).
Results:
In all three ears, side effects evoked by aberrant facial nerve stimulation could be resolved and thereby speech comprehension was improved.
Conclusions:
Aberrant facial nerve stimulation in cochlear implant patients was successfully resolved by re-implantation. We hypothesize that one or more of the specific stimulus paramet ers are responsible for this success: combined common ground and monopolar stimulation mode, asymmetric pulse waveform with active anodic leading first phase followed by slow capacitive discharge, and pulse width modulation for loudness coding.
