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Hearing results with deep insertion of cochlear implant electrodes
A V Hodges1, E Villasuso, T Balkany
1Department of Otalaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, University of Miami Ear Institute, Florida 33101, USA.
Objective:
This study aimed to investigate the relationship of electrode insertion length and speech recognition in patients using Nucleus-22 cochlear implants.
Study Design:
The study design was a retrospective review of a consecutive clinical series.
Setting:
The study was conducted at an academic medical center.
Patients:
Thirty-one postlingually deafened adults with at least 6 months' experience with a Nucleus-22 cochlear implant using Spectra-22 processor and SPEAK strategy participated.
Main Outcome Measures:
Open-set speech recognition scores for words and sentences were measured.
Results:
Insertion length ranged from 22 rings (estimated 17 mm) to 32 rings (estimated 25 mm). Mean word recognition score was 35%. Mean sentence score was 69.6%. Statistical analysis showed no correlation between insertion depth and word or sentence scores.
Conclusion:
Insertion of the Nucleus-22 array beyond 22 rings does not improve performance in speech recognition. This finding cannot be generalized to other electrodes or processing strategies.