ExpORL, Department of Neurosciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.
Department of Neurosciences, Leuven Brain Institute, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.
Sci Rep. 2023 Jul 12;13(1):11251. doi: 10.1038/s41598-023-38468-0.
A cochlear implant is a neuroprosthetic device that can restore speech perception for people with severe to profound hearing loss. Because of recent evolutions, a growing number of people with a cochlear implant have useful residual acoustic hearing. While combined electro-acoustic stimulation has been shown to improve speech perception for this group of people, some studies report limited adoption rates. Here, we present electro-vibrational stimulation as an alternative combined stimulation strategy that similarly targets the full cochlear reserve. This novel strategy combines the electrical stimulation by the cochlear implant with low-frequency bone conduction stimulation. In a first evaluation of electro-vibrational stimulation, speech perception in noise was assessed in 9 subjects with a CI and symmetrical residual hearing. We demonstrate a statistically significant and clinically relevant improvement for speech perception in noise of 1.9 dB signal-to-noise ratio. This effect was observed with a first prototype that provides vibrational stimulation to both ears with limited transcranial attenuation. Future integration of electro-vibrational stimulation into one single implantable device could ultimately allow cochlear implant users to benefit from their low-frequency residual hearing without the need for an additional insert earphone.
人工耳蜗是一种神经假体设备，可以为重度至极重度听力损失的人恢复言语感知能力。由于最近的发展，越来越多的人工耳蜗使用者具有有用的残余声觉。虽然联合电声刺激已被证明可以改善这组人群的言语感知能力，但一些研究报告的采用率有限。在这里，我们提出电振动刺激作为一种替代的联合刺激策略，同样针对整个耳蜗储备。这种新策略将人工耳蜗的电刺激与低频骨导刺激相结合。在对电振动刺激的首次评估中，我们评估了 9 名具有 CI 和对称残余听力的受试者在噪声中的言语感知能力。我们证明了噪声中言语感知的信噪比提高了 1.9dB，这具有统计学意义和临床相关性。这种效果是在用提供双耳振动刺激但颅外衰减有限的第一代原型机观察到的。未来将电振动刺激集成到单个可植入设备中，最终可以使人工耳蜗使用者无需额外的插入式耳机就能受益于其低频残余听力。
