Validating fitting protocols for design-integrated radio aid receivers and cochlear implants

Abstract

The University of Southampton Auditory Implant Service radio aid study considers the validation of proposed electroacoustic verification protocols for design-integrated radio aid receivers coupled to cochlear implant sound processors. The United Kingdom (UK) Children's Radio Aid Working Group (formerly the FM Working Group) in collaboration with the UK National Deaf Children’s Society have published standards and guidance on amplification systems used with hearing aids and auditory implant sound processors (UKFMWG, 2017). In the United States (US) adaptations of the American Academy of Audiology guidelines for hearing aids have been proposed for implant sound processors in peer-reviewed research (Nair, Sousa, & Wannagot, 2017; Schafer, Musgrave, Momin, Sandrock, & Romine, 2013).Changes in the gain of the radio aid receiver resulted in corresponding changes in implant output at the electrode level. This was found to be similar in the electroacoustic output of the processor shown by the test box response curves. To avoid compression effects in the SONNET, CP1000 (N7) and CP910 (N6) processors 55dB signal levels were used as a maximum and a maximum of 65dB for Naida CI.Although the test box curves only indicate the microphone output, this has been shown to correspond at the implant electrode level. Initial results show that suitable signals of equal intensity presented to the sound processor and the radio aid transmitter are appropriate for design-integrated receivers coupled to CI sound processors, a modification of the US approach.

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ORCID for Stuart Whyte: orcid.org/0000-0003-3464-8510

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