Optimizing Regulation of a Cochlear Implant in Patients With Functional Contralateral Audition.

Cochlear Implant, Functional Contralateral Audition

360 million people in the world suffer from debilitating hearing deficiency. The cochlear implant is indicated in certain patients with severe profound deafness. The principle of the cochlear implant is to directly stimulate auditory nerve fibres by electrodes inserted in the cochlea. The steps in auditory rehabilitation are the surgical insertion of the cochlear implant, activation, and follow-up regulation. There is no formal consensus to define the exact modalities for regulation during activation or follow-up, but the principles are respected according to centres that regulate cochlear implant. Bimodal audition is the fact of having a cochlear implant and a contralateral hearing aid. In patients with cochlear implants, having binaural bimodal audition improves their auditory vocal performance in silence and in noisy environments. It needs to be considered when a second cochlear implant is not indicated for the contralateral ear. It has been shown that by allocating frequencies different from the default frequencies attributed by the manufacturer, intelligibility and perception of music are modified. The investigators therefore with to study this working hypothesis and to develop a simple protocol for the reallocation of frequencies in order to optimise auditory performance in the everyday lives of patients with implants by using an evolutionary algorithm.

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