Summary: Interacoustics’ new Aided Cortical module for the Eclipse system enables objective testing of hearing aids and cochlear implants in infants and non-responsive patients, enhancing hearing care and device validation.
Takeaways:
- Objective Device Validation: The Aided Cortical module offers hearing care professionals a reliable method to confirm the effectiveness of hearing aids and implants, especially for patients who cannot perform behavioral tests.
- Advanced Test Stimuli: The test uses specialized stimuli, including the newly developed ManU-IRU sounds, to provide accurate, frequency-specific feedback on a patient’s hearing response.
- Enhanced Patient Confidence: Clinicians can use this tool to confirm sound perception, adjust device settings, and provide reassurance to families about the patient’s hearing aid benefits.
Interacoustics announced the launch of the Aided Cortical module for their Eclipse system. The Eclipse Aided Cortical module offers an objective method to validate the benefit of hearing aids or cochlear implants in infants and other patients who may not be able to complete behavioral testing. This provides hearing care professionals with a new opportunity to provide even better hearing care.
Early identification and intervention have improved significantly since the introduction of universal newborn hearing screening programs. However, validation of hearing aids and implantable devices has remained a challenge for infants and individuals with complex needs. Aided cortical testing measures the brain’s response to speech sounds amplified via a hearing aid or a cochlear implant.
About the Aided Cortical Test
The test offers a choice between three stimuli: the well-known Ling-sounds, HD-sounds, and the newly developed ManU-IRU stimuli. The ManU-IRU stimuli are a result of a collaboration between the Interacoustics Research Unit and Manchester University, and they are excellent in their frequency specificity.
The Aided Cortical test is performed in a free-field setup on the patient while they are awake. It offers features like a precise response detector and Sound Field Analyzer for quick and accurate test results.
“With this validation, clinicians can feel confident that the child actually perceives sounds. And clinicians can use the outcome of the test to reassure parents or other relatives that the patient benefits from the hearing device and make informed adjustments to the hearing device settings if needed,” says Morten Bagger, senior product manager, ABR/OAE with Interacoustics says.
The new Aided Cortical module for Eclipse is available worldwide, except for a few countries that require registration.
Featured image: The Aided Cortical module for the Eclipse system. Photo: Interacoustics
