Considerations for Fitting Cochlear Implants Bimodally and to the Single-Sided Deaf.
Sabrina H Pieper, Noura Hamze, Stefan Brill and 6 others
PMID 35726211WHAT IT FOUND
Bimodal and SSD-CI users often lack binaural benefits due to device mismatches in latency, frequency, and level.
Current fitting mostly ignores these, but compensating latency improves localization. A coordinated approach is needed but is not yet routine.
Key findings
01Bimodal CI users have poor sound localization accuracy compared to normal-hearing listeners, largely due to frequency and latency mismatches between their acoustic and electric ears.
02Compensating for latency mismatch by adding a delay to the CI side significantly improved sound localization accuracy in bimodal CI users.
03A comprehensive fitting protocol that addresses level, latency, and frequency mismatches simultaneously is not yet available in clinical routine.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
This is a review and perspective article, not a primary study; it does not present new patient data. The proposed fitting protocol is theoretical ('best-case scenario') and acknowledges that current technology and clinical workflows do not support it. The authors are employees or contractors of a cochlear implant manufacturer (MED-EL), which may influence the perspective on device capabilities and fitting strategies.
Declared interests
Three authors (NH, SB, MP) are employees of cochlear implant manufacturer MED-EL. One author (SP) had a fixed-term contract with MED-EL during the revision phase. The work was funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret the proposed fitting protocol as a current standard of care. The authors explicitly state that such comprehensive mismatch compensation is far from clinical routine and requires tools and workflows that are not widely available.