Combined Electric and Acoustic Hearing (EAS) in Children and Adults

Description

Cochlear implants are surgically implanted devices which restore the ability to hear to the hearing impaired. Improvements in surgery and electrodes have results in an increased number of adults and children who have residual hearing and can benefit from electric and acoustic hearing in the same ear. This is called Electric Acoustic Stimulation (EAS). Many studies have shown that adult EAS users show significant benefits for speech understanding in noise and spatial hearing tasks as compared to a CI paired only with a contralateral HA. Even though this type of hearing is becoming more common, there is limited research on how it can be beneficial to children with CIs. The benefits of this study are a greater understanding of the participant's speech understanding, binaural processing, and spatial hearing. The results will help audiologists and researcher better understand how cochlear implants work, specifically when using electric and acoustic hearing in the same ear.

Conditions

Cochlear Implant, Hearing Loss

Study Overview

Study Details

Study overview

Cochlear implants are surgically implanted devices which restore the ability to hear to the hearing impaired. Improvements in surgery and electrodes have results in an increased number of adults and children who have residual hearing and can benefit from electric and acoustic hearing in the same ear. This is called Electric Acoustic Stimulation (EAS). Many studies have shown that adult EAS users show significant benefits for speech understanding in noise and spatial hearing tasks as compared to a CI paired only with a contralateral HA. Even though this type of hearing is becoming more common, there is limited research on how it can be beneficial to children with CIs. The benefits of this study are a greater understanding of the participant's speech understanding, binaural processing, and spatial hearing. The results will help audiologists and researcher better understand how cochlear implants work, specifically when using electric and acoustic hearing in the same ear.

Binaural Cue Sensitivity in Children and Adults With Combined Electric and Acoustic Stimulation

Combined Electric and Acoustic Hearing (EAS) in Children and Adults

Condition
Cochlear Implant
Intervention / Treatment

-

Contacts and Locations

Nashville

Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee, United States, 37232

Austin

University Of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, United States, 78712

Madison

University Of Wisconsin Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States, 53706

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

For general information about clinical research, read Learn About Studies.

Eligibility Criteria

  • 1. Children aged 5 to 17 years of age with either normal hearing (n=40) or at least 1 cochlear implant (CI) and binaural low-frequency acoustic hearing (n=40); adults aged 18+ years with either normal hearing (n=40) or at least 1 CI and binaural low-frequency acoustic hearing (n=40).
  • 2. Experimental participants must have at least one CI and bilateral mild to severe sensorineural hearing loss For CI participants, audiometric thresholds in the non-CI ear must be consistent with at least a mild sensorineural hearing loss; that is, the investigators will not be enrolling participants with single-sided deafness (SSD) For CI participants, unaided audiometric thresholds must be less than or equal to 80 dB HL for 125 and 250 Hz, in both ears.
  • 3. Nonverbal cognitive abilities within the typical range for all participants; adult participants must also pass cognitive screening via Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA or HI-MoCA).
  • 4. No confounding diagnosis such as autism, auditory neuropathy, neurological disorder, or general cognitive impairment.
  • 5. Willingness to use EAS technology in the implanted ear(s) to be verified via data logging from cochlear implant and hearing aid software.
  • 1. Nonverbal intelligence standard score \< 85 (for any participant).
  • 2. MoCA or HI-MoCA score \< 26 for adult participants.

Ages Eligible for Study

5 Years to

Sexes Eligible for Study

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Collaborators and Investigators

Vanderbilt University Medical Center,

Rene H Gifford, PhD, PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR, Vanderbilt University Medical Center

Study Record Dates

2028-08-31