Using Neural Response Telemetry to Monitor Physiological Responses to Acoustic Stimulation in Hybrid Cochlear Implant Users.
Paul J Abbas, Viral D Tejani, Rachel A Scheperle and 1 others
PMID 28085738WHAT IT FOUND
Cochlear implant telemetry can record acoustic responses from an electrode inside the cochlea in Hybrid cochlear implant users.
The recorded thresholds tracked measured hearing, and responses changed when hearing declined. The method is time consuming and separates hair cell and nerve signals only partially.
Key findings
01The implant telemetry system recorded acoustic responses from an electrode inside the cochlea after surgery in Hybrid cochlear implant users.
02Thresholds from the recordings tracked the patient's measured hearing thresholds, and they moved when hearing declined.
03The recordings did not cleanly separate hair cell and nerve responses, and the method required many repeated recordings.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
Read the rest of this summary
You get three full summaries a month, free, and we do not ask for a card. Search, the TL;DRs and your library stay unlimited either way.
What it does not show
The study was conducted at one hospital and did not measure speech perception or cochlear implant performance. The method did not cleanly separate hair cell and nerve responses; both showed adaptation at the higher stimulus rate. The recording procedure was time consuming and required 7 or 8 concatenated windows for each response. Only 15 participants had repeated measures, and only four of five participants with threshold shifts had physiological testing. Behavioral thresholds have about ±5 dB test-retest variability, so small changes can be hard to interpret. Electrode position varied by implant type, insertion depth and anatomy, which may affect recorded amplitudes.
Declared interests
No conflicts of interest were reported. The supplied text does not state who funded the study.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that this telemetry method can identify the cause of hearing loss or improve speech outcomes. The study showed that recordings could be made and tracked thresholds, but it did not test speech perception, implant performance, or clinical benefit, and the hair cell and nerve signals were not cleanly separated.