Patent ID: 7925355

Claim:
A cochlear implant system comprising: an implantable cochlear stimulator configured to be implanted within a patient and generate a stimulation current having an adjustable current level; one or more electrodes communicatively coupled to said stimulator and configured to apply said stimulation current to one or more locations within an ear of said patient; a sound processor communicatively coupled to said stimulator; and a probe communicatively coupled to said sound processor, wherein said probe comprises a speaker configured to apply one or more probe signals within an ear canal of said patient and a microphone configured to detect sound data representing at least a portion of said probe signals that reflect off of a tympanic membrane of said patient; wherein said sound processor is configured to use said sound data to derive and measure an acoustic reflectance of said ear; and wherein said implantable cochlear stimulator is configured to adjust said current level of said stimulation current until said sound processor detects a change in said acoustic reflectance above a threshold.