High Fidelity: Cochlear implant users report dramatically better hearing with new Vanderbilt process
Cochlear implants provide hearing restoration to people with severe-to-profound hearing loss. The devices use a combination of surgically implanted electrodes that stimulate auditory nerve pathways and an external sound processor worn behind the ear to provide hearing sensations. Although cochlear implants are considered standard-of-care treatment for severe-to-profound hearing loss, the quality of hearing is not on par with normal fidelity and a number of recipients may experience only marginal hearing restoration.
Using Vanderbilt’s patent-pending nonsurgical process, audiologists are able to fine-tune and customize cochlear implant programming, providing improved sound quality and clarity. “Our automated image-guided programming method can dramatically improve a person’s hearing with a cochlear implant, even if implantation happened a long time ago. Study subjects have called it life-changing,” said Benoit M. Dawant, the Cornelius Vanderbilt Professor of Engineering and director of the Vanderbilt Initiative in Surgery and Engineering (ViSE). “This is an excellent example of collaborative effort between engineering and medicine that ViSE promotes.”
For full story see: http://news.vanderbilt.edu/2013/03/high-fidelity/