MedPath

A Computational Approach to Optimal Deactivation of Cochlear Implant Electrodes

Not Applicable
Recruiting
Conditions
Hearing Loss
Interventions
Diagnostic Test: Cochlear implant Computer Model Implementation
Registration Number
NCT05219474
Lead Sponsor
NYU Langone Health
Brief Summary

The goal of the present study is to use computationally driven models of speech understanding in CI users to guide the search for which combination of active electrodes can yield the best speech understanding for a specific patient. It is hypothesized that model-recommended settings will result in significantly better speech understanding than standard-of-care settings.

Detailed Description

Aim 1 is to quantify speech understanding and sound quality with model-recommended combinations of active electrodes compared to standard settings, and compared to two control active electrode combinations. Aim 2 is to translate the model-driven recommendations from Aim 1 into practical guidance about how many (and possibly which) CI electrodes to deactivate.

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status
RECRUITING
Sex
All
Target Recruitment
45
Inclusion Criteria

Cochlear implant subjects

  • must be older than the age of 18
  • implanted unilaterally with CI with at least 1 year of experience
  • no diagnosis of any other communicative or cognitive disorder.
  • English-speaking
  • willingness and ability to provide informed consent

Normal hearing subjects

  • must be older than age of 18
  • no diagnosis of any other communicative or cognitive disorder.
  • English-speaking
  • willingness and ability to provide informed consent
Exclusion Criteria

not meeting the inclusion criteria above

Study & Design

Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Study Design
CROSSOVER
Arm && Interventions
GroupInterventionDescription
Cochlear implant subjectsCochlear implant Computer Model ImplementationParticipates in 7 visits over a six-month duration. Subjects will be given several tests that require them to listen to sounds presented to their cochlear implant and answer questions about those sounds.
Primary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Change in Sentence recognitionBaseline Visit (Day 0), Visit 1 (Day 1), Visit 2 (Day 2), Visit 3 (6 weeks), Visit 4 (12 weeks), Visit 5 (18 weeks), Visit 6 (24 weeks)

Sentence recognition testing will consist of AzBio sentences tested in +10 dB SNR multi-talker babble. The test includes 33 lists of 20 sentences with approximately 150 words per list. Participants will complete two lists per testing session, and lists will be blocked across testing sessions so no lists are repeated. Sentence recognition scores in noise will help evaluate generalization of performance with experimental settings to other speech tasks and in other listening conditions. Speech stimuli will be presented at 65 dB SPL (C-weighted) in a sound attenuated room as measured from CI user's microphone.

Change in Pitch ScalingBaseline Visit (Day 0), Visit 1 (Day 1), Visit 2 (Day 2), Visit 3 (6 weeks), Visit 4 (12 weeks), Visit 5 (18 weeks), Visit 6 (24 weeks)

Subjects will be instructed to assign a number from 1 to 100 that corresponds to their perceived pitch of a stimulated electrode (100 highest in pitch). Each electrode will be stimulated once per block using 500ms pulse trains at comfortable loudness-balanced levels, presented in random order. A trimmed mean of pitch ratings (discarding lowest and highest ratings) for the last eight of ten blocks will be used to determine the final score. Pitch scaling will be used to evaluate whether electrodes are perceived as well ordered in pitch, and will be measured with clinical CI settings.

Change in Sound QualityBaseline Visit (Day 0), Visit 1 (Day 1), Visit 2 (Day 2), Visit 3 (6 weeks), Visit 4 (12 weeks), Visit 5 (18 weeks), Visit 6 (24 weeks)

A shortened version of the speech, spatial, and qualities of hearing scale, or SSQ will be administered when using clinical CI settings, and after using experimental CI settings for 1.5 months. The SSQ is a self-assessment questionnaire measuring hearing disability across three domains. The shortened version, SSQ12, includes 12 questions across the three domains. Each question is answered using a 10-point scale ranging for poorest (i.e. 0) to best (i.e 10) performance. The average score across questions will be used to evaluate sound quality across CI settings conditions and across subjects. The SSQ12 has previously been validated in CI users, and is highly correlated with results from the original 49 item SSQ.

Change in Vowel and consonant identificationBaseline Visit (Day 0), Visit 1 (Day 1), Visit 2 (Day 2), Visit 3 (6 weeks), Visit 4 (12 weeks), Visit 5 (18 weeks), Visit 6 (24 weeks)

Vowel and consonant identification testing will include 9 vowels in /hVd/ context and 16 consonants in /aCa/ context presented in quiet. Each phoneme will be presented 15 times. Vowel and consonant testing will be done during initial speech testing using clinical CI settings. Subject confusion matrices (i.e. number of correct responses and specific confusions) will serve as the basis for model construction.

Change in Word recognitionBaseline Visit (Day 0), Visit 1 (Day 1), Visit 2 (Day 2), Visit 3 (6 weeks), Visit 4 (12 weeks), Visit 5 (18 weeks), Visit 6 (24 weeks)

Word recognition testing will consist of a CNC monosyllabic word test that includes 30 lists of 50 words each presented in quiet. Participants will complete three CNC word lists per testing session, and word lists will be blocked across testing sessions so no word list is repeated. Word recognition scores will be used to evaluate performance with clinical and experimental CI settings. Word scores with clinical settings will also be used for model development.

Change in Electrode discriminationBaseline Visit (Day 0), Visit 1 (Day 1), Visit 2 (Day 2), Visit 3 (6 weeks), Visit 4 (12 weeks), Visit 5 (18 weeks), Visit 6 (24 weeks)

Electrode discrimination will be measured as a JND relative to every active CI electrode in both basal and apical directions. Individual electrodes will be stimulated with 500ms pulse trains at comfortable loudness-balanced levels. JND for each reference electrode will be measured adaptively using a 4-interval 2AFC 2-down/1-up procedure. Electrode discrimination JNDs will serve as inputs to build the proposed subject-specific models.

Secondary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

NYU Langone Health

🇺🇸

New York, New York, United States

© Copyright 2025. All Rights Reserved by MedPath