Acoustic masking of electric stimulation at basal and extra-cochlear sites

Cochlear implant (CI) candidates with residual low-frequency hearing increasingly receive hearing-preserving electrode arrays to enable electric-acoustic stimulation (EAS). However, assessing very low-frequency hearing in newborns and young children remains difficult. Previous work has shown that acoustic stimulation can mask electrically evoked auditory percepts when stimulation sites are spatially separated....

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✦ The floor

Discussion

Signed responses from readers of the wire.

✦ Clinical Takeaway ✦

Findings on acoustic-electric masking at basal and extra-cochlear sites could inform programming strategies for electric-acoustic stimulation (EAS) users, but clinical translation depends on full study results — monitor this research before adjusting EAS fitting protocols.

✦ Why It Matters ✦

Understanding how acoustic and electric stimulation interact within the cochlea is critical for optimising electric-acoustic stimulation (EAS) fitting in patients with residual low-frequency hearing, a growing segment of cochlear implant recipients.

✦ Key Points ✦

01Study examines acoustic masking of electric stimulation in cochlear implant users who retain low-frequency hearing.
02Specific cochlear sites tested: basal (high-frequency end) and extra-cochlear electrode positions.
03Published in Hearing Research, a peer-reviewed audiology and hearing science journal.
04Relevant to electric-acoustic stimulation (EAS) programming and electrode array selection.
05Findings may have implications for hearing-preservation surgical strategies and device fitting.

✦ Claims & Evidence ✦

ClaimEvidenceSupport

Acoustic stimulation can mask electric stimulation delivered at basal and extra-cochlear cochlear implant electrode sites in EAS candidates.

studyunclear

✦ Research metadata ✦

PMID: 42933285
DOI: 10.1016/j.heares.2026.109835.
Journal: Hearing Research
Publication type: research_article
Evidence level: 2b
Population: Cochlear implant candidates with residual low-frequency hearing receiving hearing-preserving electrode arrays for electric-acoustic stimulation.
Intervention: Acoustic masking stimuli presented at basal and extra-cochlear electrode sites in the context of electric-acoustic stimulation

Primary outcomes

Degree of acoustic masking of electric stimulation at basal cochlear sites; Degree of acoustic masking of electric stimulation at extra-cochlear sites

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