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80th Annual Meeting of the German Society of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology, Head and Neck Surgery

German Society of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology, Head and Neck Surgery

20.05. - 24.05.2009, Rostock

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Change in the NRT threshold profile after re-implantation of cochlear implants

Meeting Abstract

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  • corresponding author Lutz Gärtner - Hals-Nasen-Ohrenklinik der Medizinischen Hochschule Hannover, Hannover, Germany
  • Andreas Büchner - Hals-Nasen-Ohrenklinik der Medizinischen Hochschule Hannover, Hannover, Germany
  • Jürgen Neuburger - Hals-Nasen-Ohrenklinik der Medizinischen Hochschule Hannover, Hannover, Germany
  • Thomas Lenarz - Hals-Nasen-Ohrenklinik der Medizinischen Hochschule Hannover, Hannover, Germany

German Society of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology, Head and Neck Surgery. 80th Annual Meeting of the German Society of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology, Head and Neck Surgery. Rostock, 20.-24.05.2009. Düsseldorf: German Medical Science GMS Publishing House; 2009. Doc09hno010

doi: 10.3205/09hno010, urn:nbn:de:0183-09hno0100

Published: July 22, 2009

© 2009 Gärtner et al.
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/deed.en). You are free: to Share – to copy, distribute and transmit the work, provided the original author and source are credited.

Outline

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Introduction: In Nucleus cochlear implants the compound action potential can be measured via Neural Response Telemetry (NRT). The threshold values (TNRT) give valuable hints for programming the speech processor and are used intraoperatively to assure quality. Because the thresholds depend on the distance between electrode contact and the density of the spiral ganglion cells it is possible to document the quality of a re-implantation.

Methods: In two adult cochlear implant users, both supplied with a Nucleus RE24 “Freedom” implant a re-implantation had to be done for medical reasons. A NRT measurement had been done during the first week of initial fitting with CustomSoundEP software.

Results: The NRT thresholds before and after re-implantation are similar. A small shift of the profile is recognizable. CT scans show similar insertion depths and location of the electrode array before and after re-implantation.

Discussion: NRT thresholds were not affected by re-implantation. NRT measurements can show the quality of a re-implantation and are possibly an indication for the insertion depth.