Graeme Clark Collection
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ItemCochlear implants: climbing new mountains (The Graham Fraser memorial lecture)( 2001)This 7th annual lecture was given as a special tribute to Graham Fraser (Figure 1). His enthusiasm, drive and constant search to find new ways to help deaf people, particularly with cochlear implants, has been most impressive. I remember with affection the visit Graham and his wife, Pat, made to Melbourne in 1992. There were lively discussions the past and future of cochlear implants. He would have had much to say about the new directors for the next decade. I hope to summarize some of those possibilities, and will refer in particular to research at our centres in Melbourne.
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ItemThe cochlear implant: a search for answers( 2000)In 1967, when I commenced cochlear implant research, there was little that could be done to help profoundly deaf people. With normal hearing, sound vibrations are converted by hair cells in the inner ear into electrical signals. These produce temporal and spatial patterns of electrical responses in the auditory pathways. With a profound hearing loss the hair cells are absent, and amplifying sound with a hearing aid provides little help.
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ItemValidation of a technique for establishing maximum comfortable levels for children using cochlear implants [Abstract]( 2002)The aim of fitting a cochlear implant is to establish electrical stimulation parameters that will provide the wearer with comfortable and useful auditory sensations. One parameter that is fundamental to achieving this aim is the Maximum Comfortable Level (C-level). A C-level is the amount of electrical current that produces a loud, but comfortable sound. C-levels need to be established for all channels that a person will use in their speech processor Map. Determining C-levels can be complicated as the person is required to make a judgment about the loudness of a sound. While most adults and older children have the ability to make such a judgment and provide feedback to the clinician, this is rarely the case for young children. Generally, the only way a clinician will be aware a sound could be too loud for a young child is when they observe the child giving an aversive reaction or an involuntary blink. A current level that produces such a reaction is called the Loudness Discomfort Level (LOL). This study examines the relationship between LDLs and C-levels. Testing was performed with a group of adults, using stimulation rates and stimulation modes that are commonly used by children. The LDL/C-level relationship established in this study provides a procedure for selling C-Levels for young children when only loudness discomfort responses can be obtained.