A cool approach to reducing electrode-induced trauma: Localized therapeutic hypothermia conserves residual hearing in cochlear implantation.

A cool approach to reducing electrode-induced trauma: Localized therapeutic hypothermia conserves residual hearing in cochlear implantation. Hear Res. 2016 May 31; Authors: Tamames I, King C, Bas E, Dietrich WD, Telischi F, Rajguru SM Abstract OBJECTIVE: The trauma caused during cochlear implant insertion can lead to cell death and a loss of residual hair cells in the cochlea. Various therapeutic approaches have been studied to prevent cochlear implant-induced residual hearing loss with limited success. In the present study, we show the efficacy of mild to moderate therapeutic hypothermia of 4 to 6 °C applied to the cochlea in reducing residual hearing loss associated with the electrode insertion trauma. APPROACH: Rats were randomly distributed in three groups: control contralateral cochleae, normothermic implanted cochleae and hypothermic implanted cochleae. Localized hypothermia was delivered to the middle turn of the cochlea for 20 min before and after implantation using a custom-designed probe perfused with cooled fluorocarbon. Auditory brainstem responses (ABRs) were recorded to assess the hearing function prior to and post-cochlear implantation at various time points up to 30 days. At the conclusion of the trials, inner ears were harvested for histology and cell count. The approach was extended to cadaver temporal bones to study the potential surgical approach and efficacy of our device. In this case, the hypothermia...
Source: Hearing Research - Category: Audiology Authors: Tags: Hear Res Source Type: research