Minimizing facial nerve stimulation in cochlear implants
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Minimizing facial nerve stimulation in cochlear implants
IRAS ID
272538
Contact name
Manohar Bance
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Cambridge University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust + University of Cambridge
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 5 months, 2 days
Research summary
Patients who have received cochlear implants can get facial nerve stimulation from electrical current spreading inside the inner ear. This current can inadvertently stimulate the facial nerve in addition to the hearing nerve. This causes facial twitching, which can be troublesome enough to prevent the patient from using the electrodes exhibiting this stimulation. This in turn affects the implants hearing performance and may result in the cochlear implant significantly reduced in effectiveness.
This study aims to understand how we can manipulate the electrical stimulation from the cochlear implant to maximize hearing stimulation and minimize facial stimulation. We know from animal data that the hearing and facial nerves have different sensitivities to things like electrical pulse shape, its pattern, and its duration. It is very unclear however if this applies to human cochlear implant patients, and what the optimal parameters are to selectively stimulate the hearing nerve in humans. The outcomes of this study will be used to more selectively program some patients with severe facial nerve cross stimulation and to inform the development of new types of implant stimulation.REC name
East of England - Cambridge Central Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
19/EE/0364
Date of REC Opinion
20 Dec 2019
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion