• Chan-Jung Chang, Chuan-Hung Sun, Chuan-Jen Hsu, Ting Chiu, Szu-Hui Yu, and Hung-Pin Wu.
• Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Taichung Tzu Chi Hospital, Buddhist Tzu Chi Medical Foundation, Taichung, Taiwan, ROC.
• J Chin Med Assoc. 2022 Aug 1; 85 (8): 874-879.

BackgroundCochlear implants (CIs) are viable treatment options in patients with severe to profound hearing loss. Speech recognition difficulties were reported in some CI recipients even with a good-aided hearing threshold. The aim of this study was to report a mapping strategy based on different target-aided hearing thresholds to achieve optimal speech recognition and maximize functional outcomes. The safety and efficacy of the mapping strategy were also inspected in the article.MethodsThis prospective repeated measures study enrolled 20 adult CI recipients with postlingual deafness using the MED-EL CI system. Word and sentence discrimination assessment and administration of a questionnaire pertaining to comfort level were conducted at the end of each session. The electrophysiological features of the CI mapping were recorded.ResultsThe correlation between audiometry results and word and sentence recognition was not high. CIs performed best at an audiometry threshold between 25 and 35 dB.ConclusionCI performance with the best perception relies on a balance between minimizing the hearing threshold and maximizing the dynamic range while maintaining an appropriate comfort level, which was achieved when the target hearing threshold was set at 25-35 dB in this study.Copyright © 2022, the Chinese Medical Association.

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