New frontiers in cochlear implantation: Acoustic plus electric hearing, hearing preservation, and more

Abstract

As cochlear implant technology has changed, so have implantation criteria. In addition to profoundly deaf individuals, candidacy has expanded to include those with significant remaining acoustic hearing. This article describes the devices that are now in clinical trial, discusses the rationale as to why residual hearing preservation is important, details the surgical techniques for hearing preservation, and shares the clinical results of electric plus acoustic processing. That a video is available online. © 2012 Elsevier Inc.