title: Importance of cochlear health for implant function.
abstract: Amazing progress has been made in providing useful hearing to hearing-impaired individuals using cochlear implants, but challenges remain. One such challenge is understanding the effects of partial degeneration of the auditory nerve, the target of cochlear implant stimulation. Here we review studies from our human and animal laboratories aimed at characterizing the health of the implanted cochlea and the auditory nerve. We use the data on cochlear and neural health to guide rehabilitation strategies. The data also motivate the development of tissue-engineering procedures to preserve or build a healthy cochlea and improve performance obtained by cochlear implant recipients or eventually replace the need for a cochlear implant. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled <Lasker Award>.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA. Electronic address: bpfingst@umich.edu.
authors.forename: Bryan E
authors.initials: BE
authors.lastname: Pfingst
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA; East Carolina University, Greenville, NC, USA.
authors.forename: Ning
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
authors.forename: Deborah J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Colesa
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
authors.forename: Melissa M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Watts
authors.affiliation: MED-EL GmbH, Innsbruck, Austria.
authors.forename: Stefan B
authors.initials: SB
authors.lastname: Strahl
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA; The University of Jordan, Amman, Jordan.
authors.forename: Soha N
authors.initials: SN
authors.lastname: Garadat
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
authors.forename: Kara C
authors.initials: KC
authors.lastname: Schvartz-Leyzac
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
authors.forename: Cameron L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Budenz
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
authors.forename: Yehoash
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Raphael
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
authors.forename: Teresa A
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Zwolan
mesh_terms: D000161:Acoustic Stimulation; D000818:Animals; D001306:Auditory Pathways / Q000503:physiopathology; D001309:Auditory Threshold; D003051:Cochlea / Q000294:innervation*; D019929:Cochlear Implantation / Q000295:instrumentation*; D003054:Cochlear Implants; D004558:Electric Stimulation; D006801:Humans; D019986:Persons with Hearing Disabilities / Q000523:psychology / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D011474:Prosthesis Design; D013067:Speech Perception