Temporal properties of the auditory nerve in cochlear implant users
Research type
Research Study
Full title
The association between the temporal properties of the auditory nerve and its effects on auditory temporal processing and speech perception abilities in cochlear implant users
IRAS ID
244347
Contact name
Sharmila Patel
Contact email
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
n/a, n/a
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 6 months, 0 days
Research summary
A cochlear implant(CI) delivers electrical stimulation to the hearing nerve so that users can hear sounds and speech. How well a CI user hears will depend on the health of the hearing nerve and its ability to respond to and process the electrical signal. People who have been deaf for a long time have been shown to have a poorer functioning hearing nerve and in this group of people it is hypothesised that the hearing nerve takes does not process the electrical signal as well; the time period required to process sounds is longer and it therefore becomes difficult for the user to perceive fine changes in speech which results in distorted communication. It is unclear how much time it takes the hearing nerve to respond to electrical stimulation and measuring this response in a wide range of people may help inform programming of CI devices and lead to better hearing abilities in users. To measure the time it takes the hearing nerve to respond to sounds a standard clinical test known as electrically evoked compound action potential (eCAP) recovery function can be used. There is currently a lack of clear evidence regarding the feasibility of using this test to measure the timing properties of the hearing nerve, therefore the aim of this work it to validate this test, establish what proportion of people it can be measured in and how long it takes to complete testing. Further studies with larger sample sizes are required to help identify the potential clinical applications of eCAP recovery functions. Timing information is crucial for speech understanding, to date it remains unknown to what extent the timing properties of the hearing nerve effects hearing and speech perception capabilities in CI users. Further studies are warranted in order to fill in these gaps in knowledge.
REC name
London - Bloomsbury Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
18/LO/1241
Date of REC Opinion
8 Aug 2018
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion