Cochlear implants and electrical brainstem stimulation in sensorineural hearing loss

Cochlear implants and multichannel auditory brainstem implants enable patie nts with bilateral total or profound hearing loss to receive at least acous tic information. Both types of prosthesis are based on electrical stimulati on of the auditory pathway. Different speech coding strategies and the numb er of electrodes used may influence the postoperative results, The preopera tive evaluation of patients is of utmost importance. The cochlear implant i s suitable for patients with hearing loss due to inner ear disorders, but w ho have functioning hearing nerve. Patients with a defect of the hearing ne rve can be provided with an auditory brainstem implant. Curr Opin Neurol 12 :41-44. (C) 1999 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.