Comparing Fixed and Individualized Channel Interaction Coefficients for Speech Perception With Dynamic Focusing Cochlear Implant Strategies

Dynamic focusing cochlear implant strategies aim to emulate normal cochlear excitation patterns by varying the degree of current focusing as a function of input level. Results on the speech perception benefits of these strategies have been mixed. In previous studies, channel interaction coefficients (K), which mediate the relationship between current level and degree of focusing, were fixed across channels and participants. Fixing K without accounting for channel interaction and the current required to accurately stimulate target neurons may elicit suboptimal loudness growth and speech perception. This study tested whether individualizing K improved speech perception relative to fixed-K and monopolar strategies. Fourteen ears of implanted adults were programmed with 14-channel strategies matched on pulse duration, pulse rate, filtering, and loudness. Sentence recognition and vowel identification was measured at 60 dB SPL equivalent in quiet and four-talker babble. On the group level, speech recognition in quiet and noise was similar between strategies. On the individual level, there were participants who benefitted with dynamic focusing strategies for speech perception in noise. Patterns of benefit were generally unclear, beyond associations between focused thresholds, duration of hearing loss, and individual-K benefit. Participants rated dynamic focusing like monopolar in clarity and ease of listening. Almost all participants expressed their willingness to use the strategies in a take-home trial. These results suggest that while individualizing K does not benefit all, there are individuals who benefit, for which the electrode–neuron interface may play a role. Future studies will evaluate acclimatization of dynamic focusing strategies using take-home trials.