NCT04161261

Minimizing Facial Nerve Stimulation in Cochlear Implants

• Status: Unknown
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 24 (estimated)
• Sponsor: Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Accepted

Summary

This study aims to understand how to manipulate the electrical stimulation from the cochlear implant to maximize hearing stimulation and minimize facial stimulation. It is 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.

Detailed description

The patients eligible for the study are deaf, and have consented as part of their standard of care to receiving a cochlear implant. There will be no interference with this process in any way. Those patients that are unfortunate to be affected by facial nerve stimulation following receiving their cochlear implant however will be contacted and with the aim to help improve their symptoms as indicated in prior animal studies

Conditions

• Cochlear Hearing Loss
• Hearing Loss, Sensorineural
• Hearing Loss
• Facial Nerve Injury
• Nerve Disorders

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
PROCEDURE	Electrical Stimulation	To measure the facial nerve stimulation threshold for one mid-array and one apical electrode of the implant using the pulse-train stimuli

Timeline

• Start date: 2019-12-13
• Primary completion: 2022-05-03
• Completion: 2022-11-01
• First posted: 2019-11-13
• Last updated: 2021-07-29

Locations

1 site across 1 country: United Kingdom