title: Cochlear implant programming: a global survey on the state of the art.
abstract: The programming of CIs is essential for good performance. However, no Good Clinical Practice guidelines exist. This paper reports on the results of an inventory of the current practice worldwide. A questionnaire was distributed to 47 CI centers. They follow 47600 recipients in 17 countries and 5 continents. The results were discussed during a debate. Sixty-two percent of the results were verified through individual interviews during the following months. Most centers (72%) participated in a cross-sectional study logging 5 consecutive fitting sessions in 5 different recipients. Data indicate that general practice starts with a single switch-on session, followed by three monthly sessions, three quarterly sessions, and then annual sessions, all containing one hour of programming and testing. The main focus lies on setting maximum and, to a lesser extent, minimum current levels per electrode. These levels are often determined on a few electrodes and then extrapolated. They are mainly based on subjective loudness perception by the CI user and, to a lesser extent, on pure tone and speech audiometry. Objective measures play a small role as indication of the global MAP profile. Other MAP parameters are rarely modified. Measurable targets are only defined for pure tone audiometry. Huge variation exists between centers on all aspects of the fitting practice.
authors.affiliation: The Eargroup, Herentalsebaan 75, 2100 Antwerp-Deurne, Belgium ; Laboratory of Biomedical Physics, University of Antwerp, Antwerp-Deurne, Belgium.
authors.forename: Bart
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-5914-9067
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Vaerenberg
authors.affiliation: VU University Medical Center, 1081 HZ Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Cas
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-1617-1253
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Smits
authors.affiliation: The Eargroup, Herentalsebaan 75, 2100 Antwerp-Deurne, Belgium.
authors.forename: Geert
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-2639-2578
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: De Ceulaer
authors.affiliation: Hôpital Sacré Cœur, Beirut B.P.116, Lebanon.
authors.forename: Elie
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-3045-6829
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Zir
authors.affiliation: Yorkshire CI Service, Bradford BD9 5HU, UK.
authors.forename: Sally
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-2405-3014
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Harman
authors.affiliation: University Hospital Saint-Luc, 1200 Brussels, Belgium.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Jaspers
authors.affiliation: Emmeline Centre, Cambridge CB2 0QQ, UK.
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Tam
authors.affiliation: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27514, USA.
authors.forename: Margaret
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-4344-283X
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dillon
authors.affiliation: University Medical Center Freiburg, 79106 Freiburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-4491-1941
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Wesarg
authors.affiliation: CHU de Grenoble, 38701 Grenoble, France.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Martin-Bonniot
authors.affiliation: Medizinische Hochschule, 30625 Hannover, Germany.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Gärtner
authors.affiliation: University of Medicine and Pharmacy Grigore T. Popa, 95060 Iasi, Romania.
authors.forename: Sebastian
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-3768-6232
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Cozma
authors.affiliation: Meders Hearing and Speech Center, Istanbul, Turkey.
authors.forename: Julie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kosaner
authors.affiliation: University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, MO 66160, USA.
authors.forename: Sandra
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-7195-7254
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Prentiss
authors.affiliation: Dr Manoj's ENT Superspeciality Institute & Research Centre, Calicut, Kerala 673005, India.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Sasidharan
authors.affiliation: LUMC, 2300 RC Leiden, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Jeroen J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Briaire
authors.affiliation: Royal National Throat, Nose and Ear Hospital, London WC1X 8EE, UK.
authors.forename: Jane
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-4029-0570
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bradley
authors.affiliation: University Hospital, 6202 AZ Maastricht, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Debruyne
authors.affiliation: Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital, Melbourne, VIC 3002, Australia.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hollow
authors.affiliation: PD Hinduja Hospital National and MRC, Mumbai 400016, India.
authors.forename: Rajesh
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-7005-2445
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Patadia
authors.affiliation: UMC St. Radboud, 6525 GA Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Lucas
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Mens
authors.affiliation: Nottingham Auditory Implant Programme, Nottingham NG1 5DU, UK.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Veekmans
authors.affiliation: University Hospital, 27 Oslo, Norway.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Greisiger
authors.affiliation: Hôpital Rothschild, 75012 Paris, France.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Harboun-Cohen
authors.affiliation: Hôpital Beaujon, Paris, France.
authors.forename: Stéphanie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Borel
authors.affiliation: Medical Audiology Services, Perth, WA 6005, Australia.
authors.forename: Dayse
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-6249-7268
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Tavora-Vieira
authors.affiliation: University Sapienza, 185 Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Patrizia
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-0982-0905
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Mancini
authors.affiliation: South of England CI Centre, Southampton SO17 1BJ, UK.
authors.forename: Helen
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-5093-2020
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Cullington
authors.affiliation: Sunnybrook, Toronto, ON, Canada M4N 3M5.
authors.forename: Amy Han-Chi
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-0040-3822
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Ng
authors.affiliation: World Hearing Center, 02-042 Warsaw, Poland.
authors.forename: Adam
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-6663-9331
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Walkowiak
authors.affiliation: NYU Langone Medical Center, New York, NY 10016, USA.
authors.forename: William H
authors.initials: WH
authors.lastname: Shapiro
authors.affiliation: The Eargroup, Herentalsebaan 75, 2100 Antwerp-Deurne, Belgium ; Laboratory of Biomedical Physics, University of Antwerp, Antwerp-Deurne, Belgium.
authors.forename: Paul J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Govaerts
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001301:Audiometry, Pure-Tone; D019929:Cochlear Implantation / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards; D003054:Cochlear Implants; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D012984:Software; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires