title: Nucleus Freedom North American clinical trial.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate hearing outcomes and effects of stimulation rate on performance with the Nucleus Freedom cochlear implant (Cochlear Americas, Denver, CO).
  
  
  METHODS
  Randomized, controlled, prospective, single-blind clinical study using single-subject repeated measures (A-B-A-B) design at 14 academic centers in the United States and Canada and comparison with outcomes of a prior device by the same manufacturer.
  
  
  METHODS
  Seventy-one severely/profoundly hearing impaired adults.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Seventy-one adult recipients were randomly programmed in two different sets of rate: ACE or higher rate ACE RE. Mean scores for Consonant Nucleus Consonant words is 57%, Hearing in Noise Test (HINT) sentences in quiet 78%, and HINT sentences in noise 64%. Sixty-seven percent of subjects preferred slower rates of stimulation, and performance did not improve with higher rates of stimulation using this device.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Subjects performed well, and there was no advantage to higher stimulation rates with this device.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Higher stimulation rates do not necessarily result in improved performance.
authors.affiliation: University of Miami Ear Institute, Miami, FL 33101, USA. tbalkany@miami.edu
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Balkany
authors.forename: Annelle
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hodges
authors.forename: Christine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Menapace
authors.forename: Linda
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Hazard
authors.forename: Colin
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Driscoll
authors.forename: Bruce
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Gantz
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Kelsall
authors.forename: William
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Luxford
authors.forename: Sean
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: McMenomy
authors.forename: J Gail
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Neely
authors.forename: Brian
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Peters
authors.forename: Harold
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Pillsbury
authors.forename: Joseph
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Roberson
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Schramm
authors.forename: Steven
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Telian
authors.forename: Susan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Waltzman
authors.forename: Brian
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Westerberg
authors.forename: Stacy
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Payne
mesh_terms: D000161:Acoustic Stimulation / Q000295:instrumentation; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003054:Cochlear Implants; D003638:Deafness / Q000601:surgery*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009622:Noise / Q000009:adverse effects; D011300:Preoperative Care; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011474:Prosthesis Design; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D016037:Single-Blind Method; D013067:Speech Perception; D016896:Treatment Outcome