She is determining ways to adjust settings on cochlear implants so that people who are severely hearing impaired can improve their speech recognition. But there's a lot of variation in sound clarity, and I want to find out what strategies will optimize people's understanding of speech. Skinner will study 75 volunteers who no longer benefit from traditional hearing aids.
Cochlear implants use an external microphone placed above the ear to pick up sounds.
The signals are relayed to a speech processor worn on the belt or clothing which then sends the signals through the skin to a surgically implanted receiver behind one ear. The sound then travels through insulated wires to electrodes in the cochlea of the inner ear. The fluid-filled cochlea converts sound waves into nerve signals. Damage to its hair cells or to the auditory nerve itself can sabotage this process, making hearing aids useless. Cochlear implant electrodes bypass the damage by directly stimulating healthy nerve fibers.