Patent ID: 8467881

Claim:
A method comprising: dividing an audio signal presented to a cochlear implant patient into a plurality of analysis channels each containing a frequency domain signal representative of a distinct frequency portion of the audio signal; detecting a maximum energy level of each of the frequency domain signals; identifying, based on the detected maximum energy levels of each of the frequency domain signals, one or more spectral peaks and one or more other spectral components of the audio signal; selectively applying electrical stimulation representative of the one or more spectral peaks to at least one stimulation site within the cochlear implant patient using a partial multipolar stimulation configuration; and selectively applying electrical stimulation representative of the one or more other spectral components of the audio signal to at least one other stimulation site within the cochlear implant patient using a monopolar stimulation configuration; wherein the selectively applying of the electrical stimulation representative of the one or more spectral peaks using the partial multipolar stimulation configuration comprises concurrently applying a main current to a main electrode, and applying compensating current to one or more compensating electrodes, wherein the compensating current is opposite in polarity compared to the main current and less than the main current, and wherein a remaining amount of current equal to a difference between the main current and the compensating current flows to an extracochlear ground electrode.