We have made significant advances in enhancing auditory diagnosis and designing innovative auditory prostheses. Our research has led to the creation of new methods and prototypes that were used for evaluation in CI users and normal-hearing subjects. Key achievements include:
Related to SC1:
- Demonstrated integration between electric and acoustic stimulation (across ears) at cortical level using speech stimuli and short stimuli (Dolhopiatenko and Nogueira, Frontiers 2023; Dolhopiatenko et al., Hearing Research 2024; Dolhopiatenko and Nogueira, Hearing Research 2025).
- Designed and validated a novel measure to assess cortically evoked potentials to phonemes from continuous speech with electric stimulation. Now, this measure can be extended to electric-acoustic interaction to investigate central integration of phonemes with electric and acoustic stimulation (Aldag and Nogueira, Scientific Reports 2023).
Related to SC2:
- Demonstrated that interaction between low-frequency acoustic stimulation and electric stimulation delivered through a CI electrode placed at or close to the round window exists and that it can be measured through behavioral responses. This opens the possibility to assess low-frequency residual hearing through electric-acoustic interaction (Hinz et al., ARO 2025).
- First electrophysiological measures have been conducted to assess whether electric-acoustic interaction can be measured electrophysiologically (Nogueira et al., ARO 2025).
Related to SC3:
- Designed a computational modeling framework to simulate the current spread and activation of the auditory nerve for electric stimulation through a CI or through extracochlear electrodes in the middle ear or external ear canal (e.g. Kipping et al., ARO 2025).
- Investigated electric-acoustic interaction in electrophysiological responses through the computational modeling framework (Kipping et al., IEEE TMBE 2024; Kipping et al., ARO 2025;).
- Evaluated possible electrophysiological measures of neural survival using the computational modeling framework (Zhang et al., arXiv 2025).
- Investigated loudness perception, spectral modulation detection, and speech reception performance of CI users using the computational modeling framework (Kipping et al., ICBT 2023; Alvarez et al., Frontiers 2023; Alvarez et al., arXiv 2025).
Related to SC4:
- Designed the research interface to deliver electric and acoustic stimulation that serves as the basis for the subprojects P1, P3 and P4 (Nogueira, DGA 2024; Hinz et al., ARO 2025). Clinical approval to conduct experiments in hearing-impaired subjects has been granted and first pilot experiments are running.
- Designed and evaluated a novel method for measuring electrophysiological responses that improves accuracy at hearing threshold with respect to current available measures (Krüger et al., JASA 2025, under review).
Related to SC5:
- Designed and evaluated a sound coding strategy combining low-frequency acoustic hearing with basal electric stimulation, enhancing speech reception and logatome identification (Nogueira, CIAP 2023; Nogueira, DGA 2024).
- Designed a research interface prototype consisting of an electric current source, an acoustic stimulator, and a controller for the stimulation through a graphical user interface, termed READISTIM, for extra-cochlear electric and acoustic stimulation. READISTIM can be connected to a physiological amplifier to assess how low-frequency acoustic stimulation masks electrically evoked auditory brainstem responses (ABRs) (Hinz et al., ARO 2025) and serves as a first version of the diagnostic device defined in P3.
