Purpose The goal of this study was to compare clinical and research-based cochlear-implant (CI) measures using telehealth versus traditional methods. Method This prospective study used an ABA design (A: laboratory, B: remote site). All measures were made twice per visit to assess within-session variability. Twenty nine adult and pediatric CI recipients participated. Measures included: electrode impedance, electrically evoked compound action potential (ECAP) thresholds, psychophysical thresholds using an adaptive procedure, map thresholds and upper comfort levels, and speech perception. Subjects completed a questionnaire at the end of the study. Results Results for all electrode-specific measures revealed no statistically significant differences between traditional and remote conditions. Speech perception was significantly poorer in the remote condition, which was likely due to the lack of a sound booth. In general, subjects indicated that they would take advantage of telehealth options at least some of the time, if it were available. Conclusions Results from this study demonstrate that telehealth is a viable option for research and clinical measures. Additional studies are needed to investigate ways to improve speech perception at remote locations that lack sound booths, and to validate the use of telehealth for pediatric services (e.g., play audiometry), sound-field threshold testing, and troubleshooting equipment.

The primary goal of this study was to characterize the variability in auditory-nerve temporal response patterns obtained with the electrically evoked compound action potential (ECAP) within and across a relatively large group of cochlear-implant recipients. ECAPs were recorded in response to each of 21 pulses in a pulse train for five rates (900, 1200, 1800, 2400, and 3500 pps) and three cochlear regions (basal, middle, and apical). An alternating amplitude pattern was typically observed across the pulse train for slower rates, reflecting refractory properties of individual nerve fibers. For faster rates, the alternation ceased and overall amplitudes were substantially lower relative to the first pulse in the train, reflecting cross-fiber desynchronization. The following specific parameters were examined: (1) the rate at which the alternating pattern ceased (termed stochastic rate), (2) the alternation depth and the rate at which the maximum alternation occurred, and (3) the average normalized ECAP amplitude across the pulse train (measure of overall adaptation/desynchronization). Data from 29 ears showed that stochastic rates for the group spanned the entire range of rates tested. The majority of subjects (79%) had different stochastic rates across the three cochlear regions. The stochastic rate occurred most frequently at 2400 pps for basal and middle electrodes, and at 3500 pps for apical electrodes. Stimulus level was significantly correlated with stochastic rate, where higher levels yielded faster stochastic rates. The maximum alternation depth averaged 19% of the amplitude for the first pulse. Maximum alternation occurred most often at 1800 pps for basal and apical electrodes, and at 1200 pps for middle electrodes. These differences suggest some independence between alternation depth and stochastic rate. Finally, the overall amount of adaptation or desynchronization ranged from 63% (for 900 pps) to 23% (for 3500 pps) of the amplitude for the first pulse. Differences in temporal response properties across the cochlea within subjects may have implications for developing new speech-processing strategies that employ varied rates across the array.

The primary goal of this study was to evaluate physiological spatial excitation patterns for stimulation of adjacent physical electrodes and intermediate virtual channels. Two experiments were conducted that utilized electrically evoked compound action potential (ECAP) spread-of-excitation (SOE) functions obtained with the traditional forward-masking subtraction method. These two experiments examined spatial excitation patterns for virtual-channel maskers and probes, respectively. In Experiment 1, ECAP SOE patterns were obtained for maskers applied to physical electrodes and virtual channels to determine whether virtual-channel maskers yield SOE patterns similar to those predicted from physical electrodes. In Experiment 2, spatial separation of SOE functions was compared for two adjacent physical probe electrodes and the intermediate virtual channel to determine the extent to which ECAP SOE patterns for virtual-channel probes are spatially separate from those obtained with physical electrodes. Data were obtained for three electrode regions (basal, middle, apical) for 35 ears implanted with Cochlear (N = 16) or Advanced Bionics (N = 19) devices. Results from Experiment 1 showed no significant difference between predicted and measured ECAP amplitudes for Advanced Bionics subjects. Measured ECAP amplitudes for virtual-channel maskers were significantly larger than the predicted amplitudes for Cochlear subjects; however, the difference was <2 μV and thus is likely not clinically significant. Results from Experiment 2 showed that the probe set in the apical region demonstrated the least amount of spatial separation amongst SOE functions, which may be attributed to more uniform nerve survival patterns, closer electrode spacing, and/or the tapered geometry of the cochlea. As expected, adjacent physical probes demonstrated greater spatial separation than for comparisons between each physical probe and the intermediate virtual channel. Finally, the virtual-channel SOE functions were generally weighted toward the basal electrode in the pair.

Purpose The current study evaluated the effect of remote system and acoustic environment on speech perception via telehealth with cochlear implant recipients. Method Speech perception was measured in quiet and in noise. Systems evaluated were: Polycom visual concert (PVC) and a hybrid presentation system (HPS). Each system was evaluated in a sound-treated booth and a quiet office. Results For speech in quiet, there was a significant effect of environment with better performance in the booth compared to the office; there was no effect of system (PVC or HPS). Speech in noise revealed a significant interaction between environment and system. Subjects’ performance was poorer for PVC in the office while performance in the sound booth was not significantly different for the two systems. Results from the current study were compared to results for the same group of subjects from an earlier study; results suggested poorer performance at remote sites in the previous study was primarily due to environment, not system. Conclusions Speech perception was best when evaluated in a sound-treated booth. HPS was superior for speech in noise in a reverberant environment. Future research should focus on modifications to non sound-treated environments for telehealth service delivery in rural areas.

Objective Previous research from our laboratory comparing electrically evoked compound action potential (ECAP) artifact reduction methods has shown larger amplitudes and lower thresholds with cathodic-leading forward masking than with alternating polarity. One interpretation of this result is that the anodic-leading phase used with alternating polarity elicits a less excitatory response (in contrast to results from recent studies with humans), which when averaged with responses to cathodic-leading stimuli, results in smaller amplitudes. Another interpretation is that the latencies of the responses to anodic- and cathodic-leading pulses differ, which when averaged together, result in smaller amplitudes than for either polarity alone due to temporal smearing. The purpose of this study was to separate the effects of stimulus polarity and artifact reduction method to determine the relative effects of each. Design This study used a within-subjects design. ECAP growth functions were obtained using cathodic-leading forward masking (CathFM), anodic-leading forward masking (AnodFM), and alternating polarity (AltPol) for 23 CI recipients (N=13 Cochlear and N=10 Advanced Bionics). N1 latency, amplitude, slope of the amplitude-growth function, and threshold were compared across methods. Data were analyzed separately for each manufacturer due to inherent differences between devices. Results N1 latencies were significantly shorter for AnodFM than for CathFM and AltPol for both Cochlear and Advanced Bionics participants. Amplitudes were larger for AnodFM than for either CathFM or AltPol for Cochlear recipients; amplitude was not significantly different across methods for Advanced Bionics recipients. Slopes were shallowest for CathFM for Cochlear subjects, but were not significantly different among methods for Advanced Bionics subjects. Thresholds with AltPol were significantly higher than both FM methods for Cochlear recipients; there was no difference in threshold across methods for the Advanced Bionics recipients. Conclusions For Cochlear devices, the smaller amplitudes and higher thresholds observed for AltPol appear to be the result of latency differences between polarities. These results suggest that AltPol is not ideal for managing stimulus artifact for ECAP recordings. For the Advanced Bionics group, there were no significant differences among methods for amplitude, slope, or threshold, which suggests that polarity and artifact reduction method have little influence in these devices. We postulate that polarity effects are minimized for symmetrical biphasic pulses that lack an interphase gap, such as those used with Advanced Bionics devices; however, this requires further investigation.

Objective Objectives were to: 1) evaluate the incidence of abnormal cochlear implant electrode impedance intraoperatively and at the initial activation, 2) identify the percentage of abnormalities that resolve by the initial activation, and 3) determine the incidence of normal intraoperative impedances that present as abnormal at the initial activation. Study Design Retrospective records review of intraoperative and postoperative cochlear implant electrode impedances. Setting Tertiary referral center. Patients Records were examined for 194 devices implanted in 165 pediatric and adult patients. Results Results indicate at least 1 open (OC) or short circuit (SC) in 12.4% (24/194) of devices intraoperatively, decreasing to 8.2% (16/194) postoperatively. OCs were more prevalent than SCs for intraoperative (92% vs. 8%) and postoperative (94% vs. 6%) intervals. Of the 3430 total electrodes, 78 had abnormal impedance intraoperatively. Sixty-four of those (82%) resolved by the postoperative interval (62 OC, 2 SC) while 14/78 (18%) remained abnormal postoperatively (12 OC, 2 SC). Six of 3430 (0.17%) electrodes had normal impedance intraoperatively but were abnormal postoperatively. Conclusions The incidence of SCs in the present study is likely underestimated due to poor sensitivity of monopolar coupling for detecting SCs. Intraoperative OCs have a high probability of resolving by the initial activation, particularly when contiguous electrodes are affected, and suggests limited need for the use of a backup device in these cases. Surgical technique and/or complications such as explant/reimplant or perilymphatic gushers may result in increased incidence of bubbles in the cochlea, and may play a role in abnormal intraoperative impedance results.

The purpose of this study was to examine auditory-nerve temporal response properties and their relation to psychophysical threshold for electrical pulse trains of varying rates (“rate integration”). The primary hypothesis was that better rate integration (steeper slope) would be correlated with smaller decrements in ECAP amplitude as a function of stimulation rate (shallower slope of the amplitude-rate function), reflecting a larger percentage of the neural population contributing more synchronously to each pulse in the train. Data were obtained for 26 ears in 23 cochlear-implant recipients. Electrically evoked compound action potential (ECAP) amplitudes were measured in response to each of 21 pulses in a pulse train for the following rates: 900, 1200, 1800, 2400, and 3500 pps. Psychophysical thresholds were obtained using a 3-interval, forced-choice adaptive procedure for 300-ms pulse trains of the same rates as used for the ECAP measures, which formed the rate-integration function. For each electrode, the slope of the psychophysical rate-integration function was compared to the following ECAP measures: (1) slope of the function comparing average normalized ECAP amplitude across pulses versus stimulation rate (“adaptation”), (2) the rate that produced the maximum alternation depth across the pulse train, and (3) rate at which the alternating pattern ceased (stochastic rate). Results showed no significant relations between the slope of the rate-integration function and any of the ECAP measures when data were collapsed across subjects. However, group data showed that both threshold and average ECAP amplitude decreased with increased stimulus rate, and within-subject analyses showed significant positive correlations between psychophysical thresholds and mean ECAP response amplitudes across the pulse train. These data suggest that ECAP temporal response patterns are complex and further study is required to better understand the relative contributions of adaptation, desynchronization, and firing probabilities of individual neurons that contribute to the aggregate ECAP response.

Purpose: This study evaluated the use of telepractice for measuring cochlear implant (CI) behavioral threshold ( T) levels in children using conditioned play audiometry (CPA). The goals were to determine whether (a) T levels measured via telepractice were not significantly different from those obtained in person, (b) response probability differed between remote and in-person conditions, and (c) the remote visit required more time than the in-person condition. Method: An ABBA design (A, in-person; B, remote) was split across 2 visits. Nineteen children aged 2.6-7.1 years participated. T levels were measured using CPA for 3 electrodes per session. A "hit" rate was calculated to determine whether the likelihood of obtaining responses differed between conditions. Test time was compred across conditions. A questionnaire was administered to assess parent /caregiver attitudes about telepractice. Results: Results indicated no significant difference in T levels between conditions. Hit rates were not significantly different between in-person and remote conditions (98% vs. 97%, respectively). Test time was similar between conditions. Questionnaire results revealed that 100% of caregivers would use telepractice for CI appointments either some or all of the time. Conclusion: Telepractice is a viable option for routine pediatric programming appointments for children using CPA to set behavioral thresholds.