CherISH

Cochlear implants and spatial hearing: Enabling access to the next dimension of hearing

01.03.2024 bis 28.02.2027

The loss of inner hair cells in the cochlea causes deafness. Since the first trial of a cochlear implant in 1957, cochlear implants
have been developed to the point where they can (re-)restore hearing and speech understanding in a large proportion of patients.
Although spatial hearing is central to controlling and directing attention and to enabling speech understanding in noisy environments
it has been largely neglected. In current implants, matching of binaural information, a basic prerequisite for spatial hearing, is not
yet implemented. Furthermore, intensive rehabilitation programs are lacking. The here proposed interdisciplinary doctoral network in
which physicians, psychologists and engineers collaborate, aims at the improvement of spatial hearing in cochlear implant users. In
ten different interconnected projects spatial hearing will be improved by (1) applying machine learning algorithms to identify sounds
sources and to provide the information to CI users through visual or tactile spatial cues, (2) examining physiological impairments of
spatial hearing in CI users and matching the imbalance of the binaural inputs, and by (3) patient-centered training programs that make
use of virtual environments. The doctoral training network will provide the next generation of researchers and engineers that will have a
good understanding of the multifaceted problems of spatial hearing and that will be equipped with expertise and skills to come up with
innovative solutions in this field. The collaboration between academia and the private sector enables the realisation of new solutions for
spatial hearing with CIs, thus enabling deaf patients to substantially improve their hearing.