Start of the DFG project HEAR

Cochlear implants have been successfully implanted in patients with deafness or severe hearing loss, enabling them to perceive sound and thereby acquire or regain speech understanding. However, little is known about the interaction of pre-, intra- and post-operative factors on hearing outcomes. Based on retrospective information from cochlear implant patients, this project aims to develop a predictive model for hearing outcome. The reasoning process of the model should be transparent to i) allow clinicians to judge and accept or reject the model’s suggestion and ii) improve clinical understanding of the influence of pre-, intra- and post-operative factors.

The project is a collaboration with the Department of Otorhinolaryngology, University Hospital Essen/University Medical Centre Essen (Dr. Benedikt Höing, Prof. Dr. Diana Arweiler-Harbeck).