To preserve residual hearing during cochlear implant (CI) surgery it is desirable to use intraoperative monitoring of inner ear function (cochlear monitoring). A promising method is electrocochleography (ECochG). Within this project the relations between intracochlear ECochG recordings, position of the recording contact in the cochlea with respect to anatomy and frequency and preservation of residual hearing were investigated. The aim was to better understand the changes in ECochG signals and whether these are due to the electrode position in the cochlea or to trauma generated during insertion. During and after insertion of hearing preservation electrodes, intraoperative ECochG recordings were performed using the CI electrode (MED-EL). During insertion, the recordings were performed at discrete insertion steps on electrode contact 1. After insertion as well as postoperatively the recordings were performed at different electrode contacts. The electrode location in the cochlea during insertion was estimated by mathematical models using preoperative clinical imaging, the postoperative location was measured using postoperative clinical imaging. The recordings were analyzed from six adult CI recipients. In the four patients with good residual hearing in the low frequencies the signal amplitude rose with largest amplitudes being recorded closest to the generators of the stimulation frequency, while in both cases with severe pantonal hearing losses the amplitude initially rose and then dropped. This might be due to various reasons as discussed in the following. Our results indicate that this approach can provide valuable information for the interpretation of intracochlearly recorded ECochG signals.
Keywords: CI electrode location; cochlear implant; electrocochleography; hearing preservation.