Optimization of Cochlear Implant Fitting in Patients With Functional Contralateral Hearing Using an Evolutionary Algorithm. (Algo Fréq)

January 28, 2026 updated by: Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Dijon

360 million people worldwide suffer from disabling hearing loss. The prevalence of hearing impairment, all stages combined, in the French population is 7% (4 million people), of which 9% have severe impairment and 3% have profound or total impairment.

Cochlear implants are indicated in severe to profound deafness in some cases. The principle of the cochlear implant is to directly stimulate the fibres of the auditory nerve via electrodes inserted into the cochlea. It stimulates the auditory nerve and sends electrical impulses to the brain where they are interpreted as sounds.

The steps in hearing rehabilitation are surgical placement of the cochlear implant, activation, and follow-up adjustments.

There is no formal consensus on the exact adjustment procedures during activation or follow-up, but principles are followed depending on the cochlear implant adjustment centers (jack). All centers focus on sound intensity adjustments to achieve the goals of tonal audiometry in open-field silence with cochlear implant alone between 20 and 40 db (30 db most frequently). However, it is common practice to observe that this means of assessment does not really represent the performance of the individual because hearing a sound does not mean that someone will be able to recognize it and interpret it. Some of the patients who achieve these goals have difficulty hearing well in a noisy environment. Speech audiometry in silence and especially in noise would be a better reflection of patient needs.

Bimodal hearing is having a cochlear implant and a contralateral hearing aid. In cochlear implants, having bimodal binaural hearing improves the patients ability to understand speech in silent and noisy contexts. It should thus be considered when a second cochlear implant is not indicated in the contralateral ear.

It has been shown that intelligibility and musical perception are altered when the frequency allocations are different from the manufacturer's default frequency allocations. The possible redundancy between the acoustic and electrical information on the contralateral ear can lead to metallic distortion of the voice, which is perceived as less natural. This is due to a different stimulation of the cochlear tonotopic zones concerning conversational frequencies, between the implanted side and the device side. However, the frequency distribution is not subject to adjustment in current practice. A modification of the frequency distribution is possible on cochlear implants, which could improve the intelligibility and comfort of the implanted patient.

This working hypothesis will be studied, and a simple protocol for frequency reallocation of the cochlear implant will be developed to optimize the daily hearing performance of the implanted patients. An evolutionary algorithm will be used. The search for new adjustment solutions will be carried out within the safety limits imposed by the adjusters (detection and comfort loudness threshold).

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

18

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • France
      • Dijon, France, 21000
        • Chu Dijon Bourgogne

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Person having given his or her non-opposition
  • Implanted post lingual profound deafness and one functional contralateral ear (normal hearing or mild to severe hearing loss with hearing aids)
  • Have more than 6 months of experience with cochlear implants
  • Daily use of their two hearing aids for more than 6 hours a day

Exclusion Criteria:

  • person subject to a legal protection measure (guardianship, tutorship)
  • person subject to a measure of judicial control
  • pregnant, parturient or breastfeeding woman
  • adult unable to express consent
  • minor

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Other
  • Allocation: N/A
  • Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
percentage of words recognized
Time Frame: Through study completion, an average of 2 months
Measurement of intelligibility in noise in bimodal situations
Through study completion, an average of 2 months

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Dijon

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

June 8, 2020

Primary Completion (Actual)

November 9, 2020

Study Completion (Actual)

November 9, 2020

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

May 11, 2021

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

May 11, 2021

First Posted (Actual)

May 17, 2021

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

January 29, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

January 28, 2026

Last Verified

January 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • BOZORG SCHEIN 2019

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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