Survey of selective electrode deactivation attitudes and practices by cochlear implant audiologists

OBJECTIVES The purpose of this study was to explore clinician attitudes regarding selective electrode deactivation and to investigate the primary methodology used to identify poorly encoded electrodes, deactivate identified electrodes, and measure outcomes. METHODS An online survey consisting of 32 questions was administered to certified clinical and research cochlear implant (CI) audiologists. Questions asked participants about their demographic information, device programming patterns, and attitudes regarding selective electrode deactivation. RESULTS Fifty-four audiologists completed the survey. When asked whether they believed selectively deactivating poorly encoded electrodes could improve speech perception outcomes, 43% of respondents selected 'Probably Yes,' 39% selected 'Definitely Yes,' and 18% selected 'Might or Might Not.' Of those who reported deactivating electrodes as part of CI programming, various methodology was reported to identify and deactivate poorly encoding electrodes and evaluate effectiveness of deactivation. General reasons against deactivation were also reported. DISCUSSION CI audiologists generally believed selective electrode deactivation could be used to improve speech perception outcomes for patients; however, few reported implementing selective electrode deactivation in practice. Among those who do perform selective electrode deactivation, the reported methodology was highly variable. CONCLUSION These findings support the need for clinical practice guidelines to assist audiologists in performing selective electrode deactivation.