Cochlear implant comparisons.

Abstract

The implantation of an electrode into the cochlea of profoundly hearing-impaired adults now promises to be a viable alternative for rehabilitation. In this article we describe six different kinds of cochlear implants, the single-channel devices developed in Los Angeles, Stanford, and Vienna, and the multichannel devices developed in Melbourne, San Francisco, and Utah. We then present results from our own patients implanted with the Los Angeles, Vienna, and Melbourne cochlear implants. All systems provide information about environmental sounds and prosody, which can improve lip-reading ability. Only our patients implanted with the Melbourne system have been able to recognize words in unknown sentences, although others have reported such spectacular performance with single-channel devices. We stress the importance of recorded tests, of material that is unfamiliar to the patient, and of avoiding multiple presentations of the test material.