Acoustic and Electrical Processing

实验提出了解决临床相关问题的听力受损的管理 患者所获得的信息将有助于决定人工耳蜗植入的方法 最适合于特定的病人。越来越多的证据表明，对于许多患者来说， 除了由耳蜗植入物提供的刺激之外， 与仅使用助听器或仅使用耳蜗植入物相比，可以提供重要的优点。一 对于理解背景噪声中的语音观察到显著的优点。此外，这一组合 声学加电（A + E）听力可以扩大患者的范围， 助听器的作用是提高听力，减少听力损失。拟议 研究将继续我们正在进行的调查A + E听力使用现有的混合（短电极） 设备以及新一代更长、创伤更小的电极。的优缺点 每一种方法的效果都将在听力和言语理解的保护方面进行衡量， 安静和噪音，适合各种患者。目标是为不同的器械类型制定合格标准， 基于各种患者特征的预期结果。其他实验包括 描述了设计用于发现声加电刺激的机制， 综合作为一种听觉，什么因素决定了A + E方法的成功， 个别患者。

Experiments are proposed that address clinically relevant questions for the management of hearingimpaired patients. The information obtained will assist in deciding which approach for cochlear implantation is most appropriate for a particular patient. Considerable evidence is accumulating that for many patients the preservation of residual acoustic hearing, in addition to the stimulation provided by a cochlear implant, can provide important advantages compared to using only a hearing aid, or only a cochlear implant. One striking advantage is observed for understanding speech in background noise. In addition, this combined acoustic plus electric (A + E) hearing can expand the range of patients that can benefit from electrical stimulation, many of whom were unable to receive adequate benefit from a hearing aid. The proposed studies will continue our ongoing investigation of A + E hearing using the existing Hybrid (short-electrode) device as well as a new generation of longer, less-traumatic electrodes. The advantages and shortcomings of each approach will be measured in terms of preservation of hearing as well as speech understanding in quiet and in noise, for various patients. The goal is to develop eligibility criteria for the different device types, based upon the expected outcomes for various patient characteristics. Additional experiments are described that are designed to discover the mechanisms by which acoustic plus electric stimulation is integrated as an auditory sensation and what factors determine the success of the A + E approach in individual patients.