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Optimizing bilateral and single-sided-deafness cochlear implants for functioning in complex auditory environments

Award Number: R01DC020506
ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON DEAFNESS AND OTHER COMMUNICATION DISORDERS
OPDIV: NIH
AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY
AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 09/01/2023
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 05/31/2028

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Optimizing bilateral and single-sided-deafness cochlear implants for functioning in complex auditory environments - ABSTRACT: This research aims to optimize speech-understanding and spatial-hearing outcomes for cochlear- implant (CI) users, specifically bilateral (BI-CI) and single-sided-deafness (SSD-CI) users. The gap in knowledge is that it is unknown what causes contralateral disruption, how it affects speech understanding and binaural benefits, and how it might be remediated. The long-term goal of our research program is to optimize hearing performance for CI users with two inputs. The overall objective of this application is to determine the mechanisms underlying functional consequences of asymmetry, specifically through two phenomena that are manifestations of contralateral disruption: “bilateral speech interference” (speech presented in one ear impedes speech under- standing in the other, usually the better ear interfering with the poorer) and “interaural loudness mismatch” (bi- lateral stimuli that are equally loud when presented sequentially produce a distorted spatial map when presented simultaneously). Our overarching functional hypothesis is that asymmetric hearing, manifesting in contralateral disruption, is a major factor stunting real-world CI performance. Our overarching mechanistic hypothesis is that the two phenomena stem from asymmetric peripheral distortion, central auditory maladaptive plasticity, or both. We will test our overarching hypotheses through three specific aims: (1) Measure the consequences of contra- lateral disruption (bilateral speech interference and interaural loudness mismatch) from interaural asymmetry for increasingly realistic situations; (2) Determine the extent to which peripheral asymmetry explains contralateral disruption; (3) Determine if contralateral disruption is influenced by central auditory plasticity. These aims will yield the following expected outcomes: (1) identify the situations, prevalence, and magnitude where BI-CI and SSD-CI spatial-hearing outcomes are limited by contralateral disruption; (2) extend objective techniques—pre- viously applied to understand monaural CI performance—to characterize the link between peripheral neural sur- vival and binaural processing; (3) determine if abnormal across-ear processing is susceptible to central plasticity. This contribution is significant because contralateral disruption, viewed through the two asymmetry phenomena of bilateral speech interference and interaural loudness mismatch, is a major roadblock to good binaural hearing. Understanding the causes and negative consequences of contralateral disruption will provide tools to optimize rehabilitation for the 30-50% of BI-CI and nearly 100% of SSD-CI users with asymmetric hearing. The work is innovative because (1) it seeks to understand the roadblock in hearing outcomes based on asymmetry effects, rather than optimizing each ear individually, (2) it compares BI-CI and SSD-CI users to distinguish the mecha- nisms underlying contralateral disruption, and (3) it pairs perceptual and objective measures to differentiate be- tween peripheral and central contributions to poor hearing outcomes in asymmetric cases.


Issue Date FY	Funding FY	Legal Entity Name	Legal Entity Address	Legal Entity City	Legal Entity State	Legal Entity Zip Code	Legal Entity COUNTY	Legal Entity COUNTRY	Assistance Listing	Award Code	Budget Year	Action Date	Action Type	Action Amount

Issue Date FY: 2025 ( Subtotal = $547,904 )
2025	2025	UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND, COLLEGE PARK	3112 LEE BUILDING	COLLEGE PARK	MD	20742	PRINCE GEORGES	USA	Research Related to Deafness and Communication Disorders	000	3	5/28/2025	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$547,904
														Subtotal = $547,904

Issue Date FY: 2024 ( Subtotal = $552,107 )
2024	2024	UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND, COLLEGE PARK	3112 LEE BUILDING	COLLEGE PARK	MD	20742	PRINCE GEORGES	USA	Research Related to Deafness and Communication Disorders	000	2	5/31/2024	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$552,107
														Subtotal = $552,107

Issue Date FY: 2023 ( Subtotal = $586,240 )
2023	2023	UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND, COLLEGE PARK	3112 LEE BLDG 7809 REGENTS DR	COLLEGE PARK	MD	20742	PRINCE GEORGES	USA	Research Related to Deafness and Communication Disorders	001	1	9/11/2023	NEW	$0
2023	2023	UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND, COLLEGE PARK	3112 LEE BLDG 7809 REGENTS DR	COLLEGE PARK	MD	20742	PRINCE GEORGES	USA	Research Related to Deafness and Communication Disorders	000	1	8/25/2023	NEW	$586,240
														Subtotal = $586,240

Grand Total All Awards = $1,686,251

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Optimizing bilateral and single-sided-deafness cochlear implants for functioning in complex auditory environments

Award Number: R01DC020506

ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON DEAFNESS AND OTHER COMMUNICATION DISORDERS

OPDIV: NIH

AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY

AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 09/01/2023

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 05/31/2028

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