Patient performance with two types of multiple electrode intracochlear implant.

Abstract

The functional results of 9 persons implanted with the Symbion Ineraid and 8 persons implanted with the Nucleus cochlear implant with the F0, F1, F2 coding strategy are reported. All patients were postlingually totally deaf, the patients implanted with the Symbion Ineraid were all above 40 years of age, while the Nucleus patients were with one exception under 40 years of age. The CID Everyday Sentences Test, the Helen Test and the Speech Tracking Test showed that all patients improved their communication skills when sound through the implant was added to lip-reading. The patients' ability to understand without lip-reading was tested with the CID everyday sentences test, with the Helen test, with spondees, with three-choice vowels and with a consonant confusion test. These showed that all 9 Symbion Ineraid patients achieved some degree of open speech understanding. Four of the 8 Nucleus patients achieved some degree of open speech understanding. Difference limen tests for intensity and frequency indicated that 2 of the Nucleus patients who did not achieve open speech understanding probably had extensive cochlear nerve damage, while the remaining 2 Nucleus patients without open speech understanding had good frequency and intensity discrimination.