Journal article
Long-term electrode impedance changes and failure prevalence in cochlear implants
Carrie Newbold, Frank Risi, Rodney Hollow, Yusmeera Yusof, Richard Dowell
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF AUDIOLOGY | TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD | Published : 2015
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: This study assessed the prevalence of electrode failures and electrode impedance measures in Nucleus cochlear implants around initial activation (an average of 16 days after surgery) and after 8 to 12 years of device use. DESIGN: Retrospective data from the Melbourne Cochlear Implant Clinic was collated and analysed. STUDY SAMPLE: Included in this study were 232 adults, all of whom were implanted at the clinic between March 1998 and August 2005. RESULTS: Overall 0.5% of electrodes failed over the entire test period, with 5.6% of devices showing one or more electrode failure. The majority of these failures were recorded by initial activation. The numbers of electrode failures have ..
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Funding Acknowledgements
The authors acknowledge the financial support of the HEARing CRC, established and supported under the Australian Government's Cooperative Research Centres Program. The authors gratefully acknowledge the statistical support from Dr Steven Vander Hoorn from the University of Melbourne's Statistical Consulting Centre. Dr Nick Pawsey from Cochlear Ltd. provided excellent discussion on the topic and results.