[Hearing with combined electric acoustic stimulation].

After cochlear implantation, individuals with sufficient residual hearing in the lower frequency region are able to successfully combine acoustic and electrical stimulation patterns to improve speech perception, especially in noise, and to improve music appraisal as well. These improvements occur through enhanced transmission of fine structure information by more accurate mapping of the fundamental frequency contour through acoustic hearing. In current cochlear implant systems, the transfer of frequency and melodic contour is very coarse, and the correct detection of pitch contour requires large frequency differences. It is assumed that the acoustically transferred part of the signal enables the cochlear implant recipient to better segregate between speech signals and interfering sounds. The detection and following of a speech signal emitted by a single talker in a multitalker babble situation is improved when fundamental frequencies as grouping cues are present. The preservation of hearing in the implanted ear must be considered a major surgical challenge. The development of very flexible and soft electrode carriers in combination with surgical approaches that minimally traumatize the inner ear enable hearing preservation in nearly all cases.