Anatomy-Based Fitting for Cochlear Implants: Evaluation of Hearing Performance in Newly Implanted Cochlear Implant...

Area of Science:

• Audiology and Hearing Science
• Biomedical Engineering
• Neurosurgery

Background:

• Cochlear implant (CI) settings often mismatch cochlear tonotopy, potentially limiting auditory performance.
• Anatomy-based fitting (ABF) aims to align CI stimulation with individual tonotopy for improved sound coding.
• Environmental sound recognition may be enhanced by ABF, improving sound naturalness for CI users.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the effectiveness of ABF versus conventional settings (CS) for environmental sound recognition in new CI users.
• To investigate the impact of ABF on speech recognition in quiet and noisy conditions.

Main Methods:

• A prospective, randomized, double-blind, two-period cross-over study involving 17 new adult CI users.
• Participants received either ABF or CS for 6 weeks, followed by a switch to the alternative setting for 6 weeks.
• Audiometric assessments included environmental sound identification (TISE) and speech recognition in quiet (Fournier lists) and noise (VRB).

Main Results:

• ABF significantly improved environmental sound recognition scores (TISE) compared to CS (p=0.016).
• Speech recognition in quiet was significantly better with CS (p=0.001).
• No statistically significant difference in speech recognition in noise was observed between ABF and CS (p=0.08).

Conclusions:

• ABF enhances environmental sound recognition in new CI users, potentially improving perceived sound naturalness.
• The benefits of ABF did not extend to improved speech recognition in quiet.
• Further research is needed to clarify the effect of ABF on speech recognition in noise due to potential floor effects.