Abstract
The effects of cochlear implants on residual hearing loss is investigated through a finite element model of human auditory periphery consisting of the cochlea and middle ear. The simulation results show that a round window stiffness is the dominant factor in residual hearing loss. The increased round window stiffness to five times caused over 4dB residual hearing loss at low frequencies below 500Hz. Without considering round window ossification, inserting a cochlear implant can show at most 4dB difference of residual hearing loss in magnitude from the no-implant case although the cochlear implant's geometry and position has been varied. If the stiffness of the round window is the same, the simulation results suggest to use a thin-straight-cochlear implant inserted into the lateral side in order to preserve residual hearing at frequencies below 700Hz. In addition, when the distance between the basilar membrane and a cochlear implant is closer, the residual hearing loss becomes severe at high frequencies above 1kHz. The results would be helpful for choice of a cochlear implant depending on a patient's condition.
Published Version
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