Diagnosing How Cochlear Implants Access Speech Across a Band of Frequencies
Official title: DIAGNOSING IMPAIRED BAND ACCESS IN PATIENTS WITH COCHLEAR IMPLANTS
Funded at Father Flanagan's Boys' Home · NIH-11365539 · Data updated 2026-11-12
A study with people who use cochlear implants to figure out why speech is heard differently across users and how to measure and improve access to speech cues.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Father Flanagan's Boys' Home NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Boys Town, United States) |
| Project start | July 8, 2026 |
| Project end | May 31, 2031 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $670,445 |
| NIH project number | 1R01DC022963-01A1 |
| Project ID | NIH-11365539 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Adults and possibly older adolescents with cochlear implants who experience variability in speech understanding.
✕Less likely to help
Patients with cochlear implants who have stable, satisfactory speech perception may not experience major short-term changes.
What this research studies
People with cochlear implants often have very different speech understanding. This project will develop and use a practical assessment that looks at how well users access speech cues across different frequency bands. By linking band access to speech outcomes, researchers aim to reveal why some patients benefit less from implants and how to optimize device settings and listening conditions. The team will carry out three aims: create a reliable band-access assessment, identify factors that reduce access to speech cues, and test how different stimuli and listening conditions affect band access. The work builds on prior findings to move toward more personalized CI care and better communication for patients.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this research could lead to more tailored cochlear implant settings and listening strategies that improve speech understanding for individual CI users.
How similar studies have gone: Previous work showed that band-by-band access to speech cues can predict outcomes, supporting the potential for targeted improvements.
Where this research is happening
-
Father Flanagan's Boys' Home
Boys Town, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Bosen, Adam K — Father Flanagan's Boys' Home
- Study coordinator: Bosen, Adam K
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.