Hybrid Cochlear Implant Outcomes and Improving Outcomes With Electric-Acoustic Stimulation

Area of Science:

• Audiology
• Otorhinolaryngology
• Biomedical Engineering

Background:

• Electric-acoustic stimulation (EAS) combines acoustic hearing preservation with cochlear implant (CI) technology.
• EAS provides crucial auditory cues like fundamental frequency and interaural time differences (ITDs) often lost with conventional CIs.
• A clinical trial evaluated the safety and effectiveness of hybrid CIs for EAS delivery.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the long-term safety and effectiveness of hybrid cochlear implants for electric-acoustic stimulation.
• To evaluate the impact of EAS on audiometric thresholds, speech perception, and patient-reported outcomes.

Main Methods:

• A prospective, multicenter clinical trial enrolled 52 adults.
• Participants were followed for up to 5 years postactivation.
• Outcomes measured included hearing thresholds, speech perception (CNC words, AzBio sentences), and patient-reported hearing quality.

Main Results:

• Functional low-frequency hearing was maintained in 77% of patients at 1 year and 66.7% at 5 years.
• Significant improvements in speech perception were observed postoperatively compared to hearing aid use.
• Patients using EAS reported better subjective speech understanding, spatial hearing, and sound quality.

Conclusions:

• Hybrid CIs with EAS demonstrate significant long-term benefits for patients with high-frequency hearing loss.
• High rates of functional hearing preservation and improved speech perception were achieved.
• EAS with binaural acoustic hearing provides enhanced subjective spatial hearing and sound quality over electric-only CI use.