Intensity discrimination with cochlear implants

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Intensity difference limens were measured for various frequencies and intensities of sinusoidal and pulsatile electrical stimulation in monkeys with electrodesimplanted in the scala tympani, scala vestibuli, modiolus, or middle ear. Difference limens decreased, as a function of initial stimulus intensity, from values of 1.5–3 dB near threshold to as low as 0.5 dB near the upper limit of the dynamic range. If sensation level was held constant, difference limens decreased as a function of frequency up to about 500 Hz, and then remained constant. They were similar across a variety of electrode placements and separations if differences in threshold and dynamic range were taken into account. However, difference limensmeasured in severely damaged ears were slightly smaller than those in moderatly damaged ears. The near miss to Weber’s law, characteristic of acoustic difference limens, was not seen with electrical stimuli. Difference limens for electrical stimuli were roughly one‐half those for acoustic stimuli; thus, part of the deficit in dynamic range for electrical stimulation compared with acoustic stimulation is countered by the smaller intensity difference limens for electrical stimuli.

This publication has 2 references indexed in Scilit: