To commemorate
World Hearing Day 2024, SHBT is spotlighting a student and his advisor who work in the research area of cochlear implant technology.
Charles Hem is a 4th-year doctoral candidate in the Harvard Program in Speech and Hearing Bioscience Technology. His dissertation advisor is
Dr. Julie Arenberg who is an Associate Professor in the Department of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery and leads the Emerging Auditory Research (EAR) Lab at Mass Eye and Ear. Charles and Julie study the variability in speech perception outcomes for people with severe hearing loss treated with cochlear implants (CIs). Cochlear implants consist of an array of electrodes that stimulate the auditory nerve to restore a sense of hearing, and although they are very successful, it is not fully understood why some people perform better than others. By taking detailed measures about the quality of interaction between cochlear implant electrodes and auditory neurons within individual CI users, we hope to better understand individuals' performance. Through this individualized approach, we can test experimental solutions by programming research strategies that reduce unwanted interactions such as deactivation of poorly performing electrodes or focusing electrical fields for more targeted stimulation.
The EAR lab is currently testing these experimental solutions with participants with Cis wearing experimental strategies for up to 5 weeks at a time. Charles' dissertation is focused on using these detailed measures combined with measures of cognitive abilities to better understand the “learning” process that newly implanted adults undergo when learning to hear again with their new implant. This understanding could better guide patient expectations or be applied towards better testing paradigms of experimental programming solutions in the lab.
