Cochlear Implant Atlas

CI Atlas · Self-assessment

Self-assessment

All 1378 self-assessment questions from across the atlas, grouped by module and tagged by level (Foundation, Trainee, Clinician). Each set scores as you reveal answers; read every rationale, including the incorrect options. For applied vignettes, work the case library; for a measure-by-measure overview, see Compare.

1378 self-assessment questions across the atlas — by chapter

Ch 1 · History of the Cochlear Implant27Ch 2 · Auditory Physiology38Ch 3 · Brain Plasticity36Ch 4 · From Hair Cell to Cortex24Ch 5 · Epidemiology of Hearing Loss24Ch 6 · Genetics of Hearing Loss24Ch 7 · Causes and Consequences of Sensorineural Hearing Loss24Ch 8 · The Psychophysics of Electric Hearing75Ch 9 · From Sound to Stimulation24Ch 10 · When Hearing Aids Aren't Enough24Ch 11 · Audiological Evaluation36Ch 12 · Candidacy & Evaluation40Ch 13 · Preoperative Imaging36Ch 14 · Devices & Electrode Arrays38Ch 15 · Speech-Coding Strategies: The Complete Lineage28Ch 16 · Preparing the Patient and Family: Work-up, Counselling and Realistic Expectations26Ch 17 · Into the Cochlea: The Medical and Surgical Path of Implantation32Ch 18 · Intraoperative Monitoring and Hearing Preservation45Ch 19 · Tuning the Electric Ear: Activation and Programming the Implant30Ch 20 · The Measure of Success: Speech, Hearing and Real-World Outcomes30Ch 21 · Learning to Listen: Rehabilitation and Habilitation30Ch 22 · Was It Worth It? Measuring Quality of Life and the Cost of an Implant26Ch 23 · Beyond the Standard Candidate: Special Populations30Ch 24 · Vestibulocochlear Anomalies: From Embryology to the Operating Room45Ch 25 · Two Ears Are Better Than One: Bilateral & Bimodal Hearing45Ch 26 · The Labyrinth Next Door: Balance and the Cochlear Implant26Ch 27 · When Things Go Wrong: Complications and Troubleshooting45Ch 28 · On the Horizon: Emerging Technology45Ch 29 · Hearing Music Through an Implant45Ch 30 · Beyond Hearing: The Implant for Tinnitus and the Balance System45Ch 31 · Beyond the Cochlear Implant: Other Implantable Hearing Devices75Ch 32 · Bypassing the Cochlea: The Auditory Brainstem Implant75Ch 33 · The Implant and the Deaf World: Ethics, Culture and Controversy75Ch 34 · Hearing in the Real World: Noise, Accessories and Connectivity75Ch 35 · Objective Measures35

Module 1 · Overview — a 200-year idea

Self-assessment — Module 12 questions
Question 1 · Foundation

Roughly how long separated Volta's first description of electrical hearing from the first deliberate stimulation of a human auditory nerve?

Question 2 · Foundation

Which best characterises how the cochlear implant was received as it developed?

Module 2 · Volta & the first electrical hearing

Self-assessment — Module 22 questions
Question 1 · Foundation

What did Volta's ear experiment fundamentally demonstrate?

Question 2 · Trainee

Why did roughly 150 years pass before the idea became a device?

Module 3 · Djourno & Eyriès — the 1957 first

Self-assessment — Module 32 questions
Question 1 · Foundation

What did Djourno and Eyriès achieve in 1957?

Question 2 · Trainee

Which feature of their device survives in every modern implant?

Module 4 · William House & the single-channel implant

Self-assessment — Module 42 questions
Question 1 · Trainee

What was the principal limitation of the single-channel implant?

Question 2 · Foundation

Why is William House's contribution historically pivotal despite the device's limits?

Module 5 · The single- vs multi-channel debate

Self-assessment — Module 52 questions
Question 1 · Trainee

Why does a multichannel implant outperform a single-channel one for speech?

Question 2 · Clinician

What largely settled the single- vs multi-channel debate?

Module 6 · The American multichannel pioneers

Self-assessment — Module 62 questions
Question 1 · Trainee

What did Blair Simmons demonstrate at Stanford in the 1960s?

Question 2 · Clinician

Which modern manufacturer descends from the UCSF (Michelson & Merzenich) lineage?

Module 7 · Graeme Clark & the Nucleus implant

Self-assessment — Module 72 questions
Question 1 · Foundation

What did Graeme Clark achieve in 1978?

Question 2 · Trainee

Why did the Nucleus device become the global template for implantation?

Module 8 · The European devices — Chouard & MED-EL

Self-assessment — Module 82 questions
Question 1 · Foundation

Which major modern manufacturer grew from the Hochmairs' work in Vienna?

Question 2 · Trainee

What is true of the French contribution to the cochlear implant?

Module 9 · The speech-coding breakthrough

Self-assessment — Module 92 questions
Question 1 · Trainee

What problem does continuous interleaved sampling (CIS) primarily address?

Question 2 · Foundation

Why is CIS considered the most important single advance in implant performance?

Module 10 · FDA approval & the 1988 NIH consensus

Self-assessment — Module 102 questions
Question 1 · Foundation

Which FDA milestone was most significant for the developing brain?

Question 2 · Trainee

What role did the NIH consensus statements play?

Module 11 · Widening the indications

Self-assessment — Module 112 questions
Question 1 · Trainee

Which best describes how cochlear-implant candidacy changed over time?

Question 2 · Clinician

For a patient with good low-frequency hearing but a steep high-frequency loss, which expansion applies?

Module 12 · The implant goes global

Self-assessment — Module 123 questions
Question 1 · Foundation

What chiefly distinguishes the newest generation of cochlear-implant manufacturers (China, Korea, India) from the first?

Question 2 · Foundation

Whose vision drove India's indigenous DRDO/SBMT cochlear implant?

Question 3 · Trainee

Why is an affordable implant especially important for India specifically?

Module 13 · From milestone to mainstream

Self-assessment — Module 132 questions
Question 1 · Foundation

Who shared the 2013 Lasker Award for the modern cochlear implant?

Question 2 · Trainee

What is the cochlear implant's principal unfinished challenge?

Module 1 · Overview — the hearing pathway

Self-assessment — Chapter 1, Module 12 questions
Question 1 · Foundation

Which single feature of normal cochlear physiology is the one a cochlear implant most depends on, and exploits?

Question 2 · Foundation

Where in the normal hearing chain does a cochlear implant intervene?

Module 2 · Sound & acoustics

Self-assessment — Chapter 1, Module 23 questions
Question 1 · Foundation

On a pure tone, which physical property is the main correlate of pitch?

Question 2 · Foundation

The decibel scale for sound level is logarithmic. Roughly what does every 20 dB represent?

Question 3 · Trainee

What are the formants of a vowel?

Module 3 · Outer & middle ear

Self-assessment — Chapter 1, Module 33 questions
Question 1 · Trainee

What is the dominant mechanism by which the middle ear matches the impedance of air to cochlear fluid?

Question 2 · Foundation

A patient has a pure conductive hearing loss. What does this tell you about the cochlea and auditory nerve?

Question 3 · Foundation

Which parts of the hearing pathway does a cochlear implant bypass?

Module 4 · Cochlear mechanics & tonotopy

Self-assessment — Chapter 1, Module 43 questions
Question 1 · Trainee

A high-frequency tone produces its largest basilar-membrane vibration where?

Question 2 · Clinician

Why does tonotopy make cochlear implantation possible even after the hair cells have died?

Question 3 · Clinician

Why is low-pitch representation often imperfect with a cochlear implant?

Module 5 · Organ of Corti & hair cells

Self-assessment — Chapter 1, Module 53 questions
Question 1 · Trainee

Which hair cells provide the great majority of the auditory nerve's afferent input?

Question 2 · Clinician

What is the principal role of outer hair cells?

Question 3 · Foundation

At which step does a cochlear implant substitute for the cochlea?

Module 6 · Mechanoelectrical transduction

Self-assessment — Chapter 1, Module 63 questions
Question 1 · Trainee

What generates the endocochlear potential of about +80 mV?

Question 2 · Trainee

What physically opens the hair cell's transduction channels?

Question 3 · Clinician

Why does potassium flow INTO the hair cell through the transduction channel, depolarising it?

Module 7 · The cochlear amplifier

Self-assessment — Chapter 1, Module 73 questions
Question 1 · Clinician

What is prestin?

Question 2 · Clinician

Why is the basilar-membrane response to sound compressive in a healthy cochlea?

Question 3 · Trainee

Loudness recruitment — a rapid growth of loudness once a sound becomes audible — is the hallmark of damage to which structure?

Module 8 · Otoacoustic emissions

Self-assessment — Chapter 1, Module 83 questions
Question 1 · Trainee

Otoacoustic emissions are the audible by-product of which structure?

Question 2 · Trainee

A distortion-product emission appears at 2f₁ − f₂. What does this demonstrate about the cochlea?

Question 3 · Clinician

An otoacoustic emission is absent. What are the two broad explanations to keep in mind?

Module 9 · The auditory nerve

Self-assessment — Chapter 1, Module 93 questions
Question 1 · Trainee

Which auditory-nerve fibres carry essentially the whole sound signal to the brain?

Question 2 · Clinician

An auditory-nerve fibre's rate-level function saturates within ~20–40 dB, yet we hear across >100 dB. How does the nerve population span the range?

Question 3 · Trainee

What is a fibre's characteristic frequency (CF)?

Module 10 · Coding of intensity & loudness

Self-assessment — Chapter 1, Module 103 questions
Question 1 · Trainee

Besides each fibre firing faster, how else does the auditory nerve signal that a sound is louder?

Question 2 · Foundation

Roughly how large is the usable dynamic range of normal hearing?

Question 3 · Trainee

Why does a cochlear implant have a very narrow electrical dynamic range (small T–C window)?

Module 11 · Coding of frequency & pitch

Self-assessment — Chapter 1, Module 113 questions
Question 1 · Trainee

What are the two codes the auditory system uses to represent frequency?

Question 2 · Clinician

Above roughly what frequency does phase-locking fail, leaving only the place code?

Question 3 · Trainee

Why do cochlear-implant recipients typically understand speech well but find music and pitch difficult?

Module 12 · Central auditory pathways

Self-assessment — Chapter 1, Module 123 questions
Question 1 · Trainee

Which nucleus is the obligatory first relay where every auditory-nerve fibre terminates?

Question 2 · Trainee

What happens to the cochlear frequency map (tonotopy) along the ascending pathway?

Question 3 · Foundation

Why does age at implantation matter so much for congenitally deaf children?

Module 13 · Binaural hearing & localization

Self-assessment — Chapter 1, Module 133 questions
Question 1 · Clinician

According to the duplex theory, which cue dominates localisation at LOW frequencies?

Question 2 · Clinician

How does the lateral superior olive (LSO) compute interaural level difference?

Question 3 · Trainee

Which binaural benefit is hardest for bilateral cochlear implants to restore, and why?

Module 1 · Overview — the plastic brain

Self-assessment — Chapter 2, Module 13 questions
Question 1 · Foundation

What is the central claim of this chapter about how the auditory brain develops?

Question 2 · Trainee

Monocular deprivation early in life leaves the deprived eye unable to drive the cortex, but the same deprivation in an adult does almost nothing. What principle does this illustrate?

Question 3 · Clinician

Why does the principle that 'even a perfect sensory input cannot produce normal perception if the central pathway was not built' matter for cochlear implantation?

Module 2 · Critical & sensitive periods

Self-assessment — Chapter 2, Module 23 questions
Question 1 · Foundation

What did Lorenz's work on imprinting in goslings establish?

Question 2 · Trainee

What is the key difference between a 'critical period' and a 'sensitive period'?

Question 3 · Trainee

An infant can discriminate the speech sounds of all languages at birth but, within the first year, tunes to only its native language. What does this illustrate?

Module 3 · Lessons from the visual system

Self-assessment — Chapter 2, Module 33 questions
Question 1 · Trainee

After early monocular deprivation, why do the open eye's ocular-dominance columns expand while the deprived eye's shrink?

Question 2 · Clinician

Why is binocular deprivation (both eyes closed) often LESS damaging to ocular-dominance columns than monocular deprivation (one eye closed)?

Question 3 · Trainee

What is the key warning the deprivation experiments give for sensory prostheses such as cochlear implants?

Module 4 · Competition & the pluripotent cortex

Self-assessment — Chapter 2, Module 43 questions
Question 1 · Trainee

What does the barrel-cortex experiment (damaging a single whisker in the newborn) demonstrate?

Question 2 · Clinician

Rerouting retinal input to the auditory thalamus causes the auditory cortex to form a map of visual space. What principle does this establish?

Question 3 · Trainee

How do pluripotency and competition together explain the risk of prolonged deafness?

Module 5 · The deaf brain — auditory deprivation

Self-assessment — Chapter 2, Module 53 questions
Question 1 · Trainee

Why is the congenitally deaf white cat an especially informative model of the deaf brain?

Question 2 · Clinician

What happens to the endbulb of Held in long-standing deafness, and why does it matter clinically?

Question 3 · Trainee

Deafening a neonatal animal causes severe cochlear-nucleus changes, but the same procedure in an adult causes far less. What does this age-grading illustrate?

Module 6 · Cross-modal plasticity

Self-assessment — Chapter 2, Module 63 questions
Question 1 · Trainee

What is cross-modal plasticity?

Question 2 · Clinician

What evidence shows that cross-modal recruitment is functional rather than incidental?

Question 3 · Clinician

Why is cross-modal plasticity described as a 'double edge' for cochlear implantation?

Module 7 · The sensitive period for hearing

Self-assessment — Chapter 2, Module 73 questions
Question 1 · Trainee

Why was a biomarker like the cortical P1 needed to study the human auditory sensitive period?

Question 2 · Clinician

What is the approximate human sensitive-period pattern revealed by P1 latency in implanted children?

Question 3 · Foundation

Why does the auditory sensitive period matter so much for spoken language?

Module 8 · The implant as environmental input

Self-assessment — Chapter 2, Module 83 questions
Question 1 · Trainee

From the brain's point of view, what is the cochlear implant's essential job?

Question 2 · Clinician

What did stimulating congenitally deaf cats with cochlear implants show about the endbulb of Held?

Question 3 · Clinician

In congenitally deaf cats implanted as kittens, how did the active auditory cortex change with duration of implant use?

Module 9 · Age at implantation & outcomes

Self-assessment — Chapter 2, Module 93 questions
Question 1 · Foundation

In a child deaf from birth, how important is age at implantation relative to other factors?

Question 2 · Clinician

Why does age at implantation matter far less for a postlingually deaf adult than for a prelingually deaf child?

Question 3 · Clinician

Why does even minimal residual hearing tend to predict a better implant outcome?

Module 10 · Adult plasticity & rehabilitation

Self-assessment — Chapter 2, Module 103 questions
Question 1 · Trainee

What does cortical reorganisation after digit amputation in an adult monkey demonstrate?

Question 2 · Clinician

Why is the adult brain less plastic than the child's, and what is the trade-off?

Question 3 · Foundation

How does adult plasticity explain why a newly activated adult implant user improves over months?

Module 11 · Binaural plasticity & bilateral CIs

Self-assessment — Chapter 2, Module 113 questions
Question 1 · Trainee

Why must the binaural system receive balanced input from both ears during development?

Question 2 · Clinician

Why does a long interval between a first and second implant reduce binaural benefit, especially in children?

Question 3 · Foundation

What is the developmental rationale for bilateral (often simultaneous) implantation in children?

Module 12 · The paradox of plasticity

Self-assessment — Chapter 2, Module 123 questions
Question 1 · Foundation

What is the 'paradox of plasticity'?

Question 2 · Clinician

Why is the closing of a sensitive period best understood as adaptive rather than as a flaw?

Question 3 · Foundation

If the whole chapter reduces to one idea, what is it?

Module 1 · Overview — deprivation & rescue

Self-assessment — Module 12 questions
Question 1 · Foundation

What is the central idea of this chapter relative to the brain-plasticity chapter?

Question 2 · Trainee

Why does deafness affect structures as far up as the cortex?

Module 2 · The pathway in health

Self-assessment — Module 22 questions
Question 1 · Foundation

Which principle explains why deprived auditory structures decline?

Question 2 · Trainee

Which are the three parts of the spiral-ganglion neuron, in order from the hair cell inward?

Module 3 · Hair-cell loss & deafferentation

Self-assessment — Module 32 questions
Question 1 · Trainee

Why does the spiral-ganglion neuron degenerate after hair-cell loss, even when the neuron was never directly injured?

Question 2 · Clinician

Which part of the neuron degenerates first after deafferentation, and why does the timing matter clinically?

Module 4 · Spiral ganglion neuron degeneration

Self-assessment — Module 42 questions
Question 1 · Trainee

What largely determines how many spiral-ganglion neurons survive after deafness?

Question 2 · Clinician

How tight is the link between spiral-ganglion survival and cochlear-implant outcome?

Module 5 · The nerve & the electrode

Self-assessment — Module 52 questions
Question 1 · Trainee

Why can two ears with the same total spiral-ganglion count perform differently with the same array?

Question 2 · Clinician

How do objective measures (ECAP/NRT, eABR) relate to the neural substrate this module describes?

Module 6 · The cochlear nucleus & the endbulb

Self-assessment — Module 62 questions
Question 1 · Trainee

What is the endbulb of Held, and what happens to it in deafness?

Question 2 · Clinician

Why is the developing brainstem especially vulnerable to deprivation?

Module 7 · Up the brainstem & midbrain

Self-assessment — Module 72 questions
Question 1 · Trainee

What does the superior olivary complex do, and what is its characteristic vulnerability?

Question 2 · Foundation

What clinical practice does the binaural-circuit biology support?

Module 8 · The deprived auditory cortex

Self-assessment — Module 82 questions
Question 1 · Trainee

What two things does early deafness do to the auditory cortex?

Question 2 · Clinician

Why is cross-modal takeover relevant to implant timing?

Module 9 · Stimulation as a trophic signal

Self-assessment — Module 92 questions
Question 1 · Trainee

What did chronic stimulation do to spiral-ganglion survival in deafened animals?

Question 2 · Clinician

Which neurotrophins are part of how activity supports spiral-ganglion neurons?

Module 10 · What stimulation restores — and its limits

Self-assessment — Module 102 questions
Question 1 · Trainee

What did Ryugo et al. (2005) demonstrate about chronic implant stimulation?

Question 2 · Clinician

What is the 'asymmetry of damage and repair' this module emphasises?

Module 11 · From bench to bedside

Self-assessment — Module 112 questions
Question 1 · Foundation

This chapter gives two independent biological reasons for early implantation. What are they?

Question 2 · Clinician

Why do implant users often find localisation and speech-in-noise the hardest gains?

Module 12 · Protecting & rebuilding the substrate

Self-assessment — Module 122 questions
Question 1 · Trainee

What is the rationale for a neurotrophin-eluting electrode?

Question 2 · Foundation

What is the single throughline of this whole chapter?

Module 1 · Overview — counting hearing loss

Self-assessment — Module 12 questions
Question 1 · Foundation

Why was hearing loss historically under-prioritised in global health, and what changed?

Question 2 · Foundation

Which statement best captures why this atlas tells the epidemiology 'from India first'?

Module 2 · Measuring the burden — grades, prevalence & DALYs

Self-assessment — Module 22 questions
Question 1 · Foundation

What is the difference between prevalence and incidence?

Question 2 · Trainee

A report states that 1.5 billion people have hearing loss but 430 million have disabling loss. How can both be right?

Module 3 · The burden of hearing loss in India

Self-assessment — Module 32 questions
Question 1 · Foundation

Roughly how many people in India are estimated to have significant auditory impairment, and what is most distinctive about this burden?

Question 2 · Trainee

Why is access, rather than biology, often the limiting factor for Indian implant candidates?

Module 4 · Causes & risk factors in India

Self-assessment — Module 42 questions
Question 1 · Foundation

How does the Indian causal mix differ most from the typical high-income-country profile?

Question 2 · Trainee

What is the main strategic implication of most of India's burden being preventable or treatable?

Module 5 · Chronic ear disease & preventable loss

Self-assessment — Module 52 questions
Question 1 · Foundation

What type of hearing loss does chronic suppurative otitis media typically cause, and what follows from that?

Question 2 · Trainee

Why does the WHO treat a population CSOM prevalence of ≥4% as significant?

Module 6 · Noise-induced loss & ototoxicity

Self-assessment — Module 62 questions
Question 1 · Foundation

Using the NIOSH 85 dB/8 h limit and a 3-dB exchange rate, what is the safe exposure time at 94 dBA?

Question 2 · Trainee

Why are noise and ototoxic drugs grouped together, and why do both matter especially in India?

Module 7 · Consanguinity & the genetics of deafness

Self-assessment — Module 72 questions
Question 1 · Foundation

How does consanguinity increase the risk of recessive deafness?

Question 2 · Clinician

Which single gene is the commonest cause of non-syndromic recessive deafness, and what is notable about it in India?

Module 8 · Congenital & childhood hearing loss

Self-assessment — Module 82 questions
Question 1 · Foundation

Roughly what is the birth prevalence of permanent congenital hearing loss, and why does it matter so much?

Question 2 · Trainee

Why can a child pass the newborn hearing screen and still be found deaf at age two?

Module 9 · Newborn & infant hearing screening

Self-assessment — Module 92 questions
Question 1 · Foundation

What do the 1–3–6 milestones of early hearing detection and intervention stand for?

Question 2 · Clinician

Why do high-risk and NICU infants need automated ABR rather than OAE alone for screening?

Module 10 · The global picture & projections to 2050

Self-assessment — Module 102 questions
Question 1 · Foundation

Roughly how many people worldwide were living with hearing loss in 2019, and what is the 2050 projection?

Question 2 · Trainee

What mainly drives the projected rise, and how is the burden distributed?

Module 11 · The cost — economic, educational & cognitive

Self-assessment — Module 112 questions
Question 1 · Foundation

According to the Lancet Commission, what is the relationship between hearing loss and dementia?

Question 2 · Trainee

What is the WHO's estimate of the annual global cost of unaddressed hearing loss, and what is the key implication?

Module 12 · Prevention & the cochlear-implant access gap

Self-assessment — Module 122 questions
Question 1 · Foundation

Where do cochlear implants sit within the levels of prevention?

Question 2 · Clinician

What is the principal limiting factor for cochlear implantation in India, and what follows for strategy?

Module 1 · Overview — genes, deafness & the implant

Self-assessment — Module 12 questions
Question 1 · Foundation

Roughly how common is congenital hearing loss, and how much is genetic?

Question 2 · Trainee

What is this chapter's central organising idea linking genetics to implant outcome?

Module 2 · Syndromic & non-syndromic deafness

Self-assessment — Module 22 questions
Question 1 · Foundation

How does genetic hearing loss divide into syndromic and non-syndromic, and why does it matter?

Question 2 · Clinician

What is an 'NSHL mimic', and why does it justify genetic testing?

Module 3 · Patterns of inheritance

Self-assessment — Module 32 questions
Question 1 · Foundation

Which inheritance pattern accounts for most non-syndromic genetic deafness, and what is its recurrence risk?

Question 2 · Clinician

Which inheritance pattern should prompt you to avoid aminoglycosides in at-risk relatives?

Module 4 · GJB2 & the connexins

Self-assessment — Module 42 questions
Question 1 · Trainee

What does connexin-26 (GJB2) do in the cochlea, and how common is its mutation?

Question 2 · Clinician

Why does GJB2-related deafness tend to give good cochlear-implant outcomes?

Module 5 · The deafness-gene landscape

Self-assessment — Module 52 questions
Question 1 · Trainee

What single feature of a deafness gene best organises its likely effect on cochlear-implant outcome?

Question 2 · Clinician

Which set are membranous-labyrinth (favourable) genes?

Module 6 · Testing — from Sanger to next-generation

Self-assessment — Module 62 questions
Question 1 · Trainee

Why is Sanger sequencing ill-suited to diagnosing non-syndromic deafness comprehensively?

Question 2 · Clinician

What does a targeted next-generation panel such as OtoSCOPE provide?

Module 7 · Genetic testing in the CI work-up

Self-assessment — Module 72 questions
Question 1 · Trainee

In the proposed paradigm, how is an apparently non-syndromic CI candidate tested?

Question 2 · Clinician

What does a NEGATIVE comprehensive panel mean for a deaf CI candidate?

Module 8 · The spiral-ganglion hypothesis

Self-assessment — Module 82 questions
Question 1 · Trainee

State the spiral-ganglion hypothesis.

Question 2 · Clinician

What is an important limitation of the hypothesis in practice?

Module 9 · Genotype-specific CI outcomes

Self-assessment — Module 92 questions
Question 1 · Clinician

Which genotype is associated with POOR cochlear-implant performance?

Question 2 · Clinician

Why is TMPRSS3 described as giving 'variable' rather than uniformly poor outcomes?

Module 10 · Auditory neuropathy & OTOF

Self-assessment — Module 102 questions
Question 1 · Trainee

What defines auditory neuropathy spectrum disorder on testing?

Question 2 · Clinician

Why do OTOF-related auditory neuropathy patients implant well?

Module 11 · Counselling, recurrence & ethics

Self-assessment — Module 112 questions
Question 1 · Foundation

What is a key concrete value of a confirmed genetic diagnosis for a family?

Question 2 · Clinician

How should a genotype that predicts a poor implant outcome be used?

Module 12 · Gene therapy & the genomic future

Self-assessment — Module 122 questions
Question 1 · Clinician

Why did otoferlin (OTOF) become the first successful inner-ear gene-therapy target?

Question 2 · Foundation

For most genetic deafness today, what remains the treatment?

Module 1 · Overview — why the cause matters

Self-assessment — Module 12 questions
Question 1 · Foundation

Why is the cause of sensorineural hearing loss prognostically useful even when the audiogram is identical between patients?

Question 2 · Trainee

Which phrase best captures sensorineural hearing loss as framed in this chapter?

Module 2 · Where the lesion sits

Self-assessment — Module 22 questions
Question 1 · Foundation

At what point does a cochlear implant inject its signal into the auditory pathway?

Question 2 · Trainee

Why can the single label 'sensorineural' hide two very different prospects for implantation?

Module 3 · Congenital & perinatal causes

Self-assessment — Module 32 questions
Question 1 · Foundation

Roughly how does congenital sensorineural hearing loss divide by cause?

Question 2 · Trainee

Why are high-risk newborns (e.g. NICU graduates) screened with automated ABR rather than OAE alone?

Module 4 · Meningitis & cochlear ossification

Self-assessment — Module 42 questions
Question 1 · Foundation

Why is post-meningitic deafness treated as an otological emergency?

Question 2 · Clinician

What does the degree of new bone formation after meningitis also signal about the neural substrate?

Module 5 · Congenital CMV & in-utero infections

Self-assessment — Module 52 questions
Question 1 · Foundation

What is the most distinctive feature of congenital CMV hearing loss for the clinician?

Question 2 · Trainee

Why must congenital CMV be confirmed within the first two to three weeks of life (or from the newborn blood spot)?

Module 6 · Ototoxicity — drugs that damage the ear

Self-assessment — Module 62 questions
Question 1 · Foundation

What is the characteristic audiometric pattern of ototoxic damage, and why?

Question 2 · Clinician

For the cochlear implant, why is ototoxic deafness relatively favourable — and what is the caveat?

Module 7 · Noise-induced hearing loss

Self-assessment — Module 72 questions
Question 1 · Foundation

What is the classic audiometric fingerprint of noise-induced hearing loss?

Question 2 · Clinician

What does cochlear synaptopathy add to the understanding of noise damage?

Module 8 · Presbycusis — the ageing cochlea

Self-assessment — Module 82 questions
Question 1 · Trainee

In Schuknecht's scheme, which presbycusis subtype gives disproportionately poor word recognition?

Question 2 · Clinician

Why does the neural subtype matter most for implant counselling?

Module 9 · Sudden & autoimmune hearing loss

Self-assessment — Module 92 questions
Question 1 · Trainee

How is sudden sensorineural hearing loss conventionally defined, and why does it matter?

Question 2 · Clinician

What makes autoimmune (immune-mediated) inner-ear disease so important to recognise?

Module 10 · Ménière's & cochlear otosclerosis

Self-assessment — Module 102 questions
Question 1 · Trainee

Why does Ménière's disease complicate cochlear-implant candidacy assessment, and what is the silver lining?

Question 2 · Clinician

What surgical complication is cochlear otosclerosis particularly associated with?

Module 11 · What the temporal bone reveals

Self-assessment — Module 112 questions
Question 1 · Trainee

What is the central implant-relevant finding from human temporal-bone studies of deafness?

Question 2 · Clinician

What is the fundamental limit of temporal-bone evidence for the practising surgeon?

Module 12 · From cause to candidacy

Self-assessment — Module 122 questions
Question 1 · Foundation

What is the chapter's organising workflow from a diagnosis to a plan?

Question 2 · Clinician

Two children are listed: stable GJB2 deafness and recent meningitis with early basal-turn ossification. Which is the more urgent, and why?

Module 1 · Why Electric Hearing Is Different

Self-assessment — Module 15 questions
Question 1 · Foundation

What does a cochlear implant fundamentally bypass?

Question 2 · Foundation

Psychophysics in implant users is fundamentally a method of relating what to what?

Question 3 · Trainee

Which is NOT one of the four core families of psychophysical measurement described?

Question 4 · Trainee

Why does the perceptual chapter precede the coding and programming chapters?

Question 5 · Clinician

A clinician setting threshold and comfort levels during programming is best described as doing what?

Module 2 · From Acoustic to Electric: What Is Lost in Translation

Self-assessment — Module 25 questions
Question 1 · Foundation

The cochlear amplifier is primarily attributed to which structures?

Question 2 · Foundation

Compression at the basilar membrane chiefly affects which sounds?

Question 3 · Trainee

Compared with acoustic firing, electrical activation of the nerve is best described as:

Question 4 · Trainee

When outer hair cells are damaged, the basilar-membrane input-output function becomes:

Question 5 · Clinician

The single organising idea of this module is that electric hearing is:

Module 3 · The Electric Dynamic Range: A Few Decibels to Work With

Self-assessment — Module 35 questions
Question 1 · Foundation

The behavioural dynamic range in electric hearing is typically about:

Question 2 · Foundation

The quantity most relevant to reaching threshold for a biphasic pulse is:

Question 3 · Trainee

As phase duration lengthens, the threshold current:

Question 4 · Trainee

Chronaxie for auditory nerve fibres is on the order of:

Question 5 · Clinician

Because the electric range is so narrow, the processor must:

Module 4 · Steep and Fast: How Loudness Grows with Electric Current

Self-assessment — Module 45 questions
Question 1 · Foundation

Approximately how wide is the usable dynamic range in electric hearing compared with normal acoustic hearing?

Question 2 · Foundation

Why is the electric loudness-growth function so much steeper than the acoustic one?

Question 3 · Trainee

Which mathematical form best captures the shallow near-threshold tail and rapid rise of electric loudness across the whole range?

Question 4 · Trainee

As per-channel pulse rate is raised above about 100 pps, loudness generally:

Question 5 · Clinician

When several electrodes are activated within one stimulation period, the per-channel current usually must be:

Module 5 · The Processor Must Do What the Cochlea No Longer Can

Self-assessment — Module 55 questions
Question 1 · Foundation

What provides instantaneous compression in a normal cochlea that the implant cannot inherit?

Question 2 · Foundation

What is the role of automatic gain control in a cochlear implant processor?

Question 3 · Trainee

The instantaneous acoustic-to-electric mapping within a channel is usually:

Question 4 · Trainee

Lowering the loudness-growth Q value (more compression) tends to:

Question 5 · Clinician

A patient hears well in quiet but loses speech in noise; a likely mapping cause is:

Module 6 · Just Detectable: What Sets the Electric Threshold

Self-assessment — Module 65 questions
Question 1 · Foundation

The strength-duration relationship in electric hearing describes how:

Question 2 · Foundation

Inserting a short interphase gap between the two phases of a biphasic pulse tends to:

Question 3 · Trainee

Why does raising pulse rate generally lower the threshold for a pulse train?

Question 4 · Trainee

Compared with focused modes, monopolar stimulation typically yields:

Question 5 · Clinician

Why must behavioural T-levels be measured with the same rate, phase duration and mode as the live program?

Module 7 · Reading the Envelope: Temporal Processing in Electric Hearing

Self-assessment — Module 75 questions
Question 1 · Foundation

Which feature of a sound does a cochlear implant primarily transmit in each channel?

Question 2 · Foundation

The temporal modulation transfer function (TMTF) in implant users has what overall shape?

Question 3 · Trainee

How does the just-detectable gap change as stimulus level increases?

Question 4 · Trainee

Why does temporal acuity in implant users approach that of normal-hearing listeners?

Question 5 · Clinician

Modulation-detection thresholds in implant users are clinically interesting because they tend to correlate with what?

Module 8 · Pitch from Timing: The 300-Hz Ceiling

Self-assessment — Module 85 questions
Question 1 · Foundation

Temporal (rate) pitch is created by changing what, while holding place constant?

Question 2 · Foundation

Around what pulse rate does temporal pitch typically saturate in implant users?

Question 3 · Trainee

Besides changing pulse rate, what else can produce temporal pitch?

Question 4 · Trainee

Why is the ~300 Hz ceiling clinically important for voice and music?

Question 5 · Clinician

Experiments on interpulse intervals suggest the auditory system extracts temporal pitch by reading what?

Module 9 · Pitch from Place: Tonotopy, Mismatch, and the Map

Self-assessment — Module 95 questions
Question 1 · Foundation

Stimulating a more basal electrode produces a percept that is:

Question 2 · Foundation

Why does adding more electrodes not linearly increase the number of resolvable pitches?

Question 3 · Trainee

A frequency-to-place mismatch most commonly arises from:

Question 4 · Trainee

What does longitudinal evidence show can happen to mismatched pitch percepts over time?

Question 5 · Clinician

Place pitch and rate pitch in an implant are best described as:

Module 10 · Blurred Frequencies: Spectral Resolution and Current Spread

Self-assessment — Module 105 questions
Question 1 · Foundation

Why is frequency resolution coarser in electric than in acoustic hearing?

Question 2 · Foundation

Spectral-ripple discrimination measures a listener's ability to:

Question 3 · Trainee

Across listener groups, spectral peak/ripple resolution is typically:

Question 4 · Trainee

Spread of excitation can be measured objectively using:

Question 5 · Clinician

Why does spectral smearing hurt speech in noise more than speech in quiet?

Module 11 · When Channels Talk to Each Other: Channel Interaction

Self-assessment — Module 115 questions
Question 1 · Foundation

Forward masking as a form of channel interaction occurs because:

Question 2 · Foundation

A forward-masked spatial tuning curve that is broad rather than sharp indicates:

Question 3 · Trainee

How does tripolar (or partial-tripolar) stimulation aim to reduce interaction?

Question 4 · Trainee

Current steering differs from current focusing in that it:

Question 5 · Clinician

Why has improved spatial selectivity from focusing not always improved speech in noise?

Module 12 · Twelve Wires, Eight Voices: The Number of Effective Channels

Self-assessment — Module 125 questions
Question 1 · Foundation

Roughly how many effective channels do typical CI users extract despite having 12-22 electrodes?

Question 2 · Foundation

In a noise-band vocoder, the number of bands controls:

Question 3 · Trainee

How many channels does sentence recognition in QUIET typically need to approach ceiling?

Question 4 · Trainee

Why does speech in NOISE keep improving as channels are added beyond what quiet needs?

Question 5 · Clinician

Which design or clinical move follows from the effective-channel ceiling?

Module 13 · Why Speech in Noise Is the Hardest Test

Self-assessment — Module 135 questions
Question 1 · Foundation

Why can an implant user score highly in quiet yet poorly in noise?

Question 2 · Foundation

Which signal component do standard processors discard, and why does that hurt in noise?

Question 3 · Trainee

What happens to the number of channels needed for good speech when noise is added?

Question 4 · Trainee

Channel interaction degrades speech in noise mainly by:

Question 5 · Clinician

Which psychophysical measures best predict a user's real-world speech-in-noise ability?

Module 14 · Why Music Is the Hardest Signal of All

Self-assessment — Module 145 questions
Question 1 · Foundation

Which musical attribute is best preserved in electric hearing?

Question 2 · Foundation

What is the approximate ceiling above which rate pitch no longer rises in most implant users?

Question 3 · Trainee

Why is place pitch a poor substitute for the missing rate pitch in music?

Question 4 · Trainee

Why is timbre so degraded with an implant?

Question 5 · Clinician

Which intervention most directly restores genuine fine-structure pitch for music?

Module 15 · Measuring Electric Hearing, and Using What You Find

Self-assessment — Module 155 questions
Question 1 · Foundation

What does a forward-masked spatial tuning curve measure?

Question 2 · Foundation

Spectral-ripple discrimination is valued clinically because it is:

Question 3 · Trainee

Poor modulation-detection thresholds in a region of the array most directly indicate a problem with:

Question 4 · Trainee

Which programming lever best addresses broad tuning and poor spectral-ripple scores?

Question 5 · Clinician

When psychophysics reveals a limit no electrode configuration can overcome, such as low-frequency pitch, the principled next step is to:

Module 1 · Overview — recreating hearing

Self-assessment — Module 12 questions
Question 1 · Foundation

What is the fundamental challenge of cochlear-implant sound coding?

Question 2 · Foundation

Which simplification underlies most cochlear-implant coding?

Module 2 · What normal hearing does

Self-assessment — Module 22 questions
Question 1 · Foundation

Which auditory function does the cochlear implant recreate most poorly?

Question 2 · Trainee

Why is speech in quiet largely a solved problem for cochlear implants?

Module 3 · The processor's signal path

Self-assessment — Module 32 questions
Question 1 · Foundation

What is the correct order of the sound processor's signal path?

Question 2 · Trainee

Roughly the same signal-path backbone is used by which devices?

Module 4 · Filter banks & the place code

Self-assessment — Module 42 questions
Question 1 · Trainee

How does the implant recreate the cochlea's place code?

Question 2 · Clinician

What is a frequency-to-place mismatch and why does it matter?

Module 5 · Envelope, fine structure & the vocoder

Self-assessment — Module 52 questions
Question 1 · Trainee

What does envelope extraction keep and discard?

Question 2 · Clinician

What is the cochlear implant best modelled as, in signal-processing terms?

Module 6 · CIS — the breakthrough

Self-assessment — Module 62 questions
Question 1 · Foundation

What problem did continuous interleaved sampling (CIS) solve?

Question 2 · Trainee

What is the enduring lesson of the CIS breakthrough?

Module 7 · Channel interaction & current spread

Self-assessment — Module 72 questions
Question 1 · Trainee

Why don't 22 electrodes provide 22 independent channels?

Question 2 · Clinician

Roughly how many effective channels do implant users typically achieve, and where does it matter most?

Module 8 · Peak-picking — SPEAK & ACE

Self-assessment — Module 82 questions
Question 1 · Trainee

How does an n-of-m strategy such as ACE work?

Question 2 · Clinician

Why does peak-picking help despite leaving some channels silent each cycle?

Module 9 · Fine structure & temporal coding

Self-assessment — Module 92 questions
Question 1 · Trainee

What does fine-structure coding (e.g. FSP) add, and where?

Question 2 · Clinician

Why is fine-structure coding restricted to low (apical) frequencies?

Module 10 · Current focusing & virtual channels

Self-assessment — Module 102 questions
Question 1 · Trainee

What does current focusing (e.g. tripolar) achieve?

Question 2 · Clinician

What is a 'virtual channel' created by current steering?

Module 11 · Front-end pre-processing

Self-assessment — Module 112 questions
Question 1 · Trainee

What does automatic gain control (AGC) do in the front end?

Question 2 · Clinician

Why is the front end such a powerful lever for hearing in noise?

Module 12 · The future of sound coding

Self-assessment — Module 122 questions
Question 1 · Foundation

What is the most immediate (near-term) advance in cochlear-implant sound coding?

Question 2 · Clinician

Why might optical (optogenetic/infrared) stimulation eventually break the channel ceiling?

Module 1 · Overview — the limits of amplification

Self-assessment — Module 12 questions
Question 1 · Foundation

What is this chapter's organising idea?

Question 2 · Foundation

Why do many people with significant hearing loss reject hearing aids?

Module 2 · Beyond the audiogram

Self-assessment — Module 22 questions
Question 1 · Foundation

What does the pure-tone audiogram actually measure?

Question 2 · Trainee

Which suprathreshold correlates does the audiogram fail to capture?

Module 3 · Audibility — what amplification does

Self-assessment — Module 32 questions
Question 1 · Foundation

What is the core job of amplification?

Question 2 · Trainee

How good a predictor of aided speech recognition is audibility?

Module 4 · Recruitment & the narrowed dynamic range

Self-assessment — Module 42 questions
Question 1 · Foundation

How does sensorineural loss narrow the dynamic range?

Question 2 · Clinician

Using Boothroyd's formula, roughly what usable dynamic range remains at a 90 dB loss?

Module 5 · Why recruitment happens

Self-assessment — Module 52 questions
Question 1 · Trainee

What mechanism produces loudness recruitment?

Question 2 · Clinician

Why does electrical (implant) hearing show no recruitment?

Module 6 · Blurred frequency resolution

Self-assessment — Module 62 questions
Question 1 · Trainee

How does sensorineural loss degrade frequency resolution?

Question 2 · Clinician

Why can't a hearing aid fix broadened frequency resolution?

Module 7 · Reduced temporal resolution

Self-assessment — Module 72 questions
Question 1 · Trainee

What happens to temporal processing in sensorineural loss?

Question 2 · Clinician

Why does reduced temporal resolution hit hardest in noise?

Module 8 · Cochlear dead regions

Self-assessment — Module 82 questions
Question 1 · Trainee

What is a cochlear dead region?

Question 2 · Clinician

What does amplifying into a dead region achieve, and how is it detected?

Module 9 · Audibility vs distortion

Self-assessment — Module 92 questions
Question 1 · Trainee

Why do audibility-based models (the Speech Intelligibility Index) break down in severe loss?

Question 2 · Clinician

How can wide dynamic range compression, used to maximise audibility, backfire?

Module 10 · When a hearing aid has done all it can

Self-assessment — Module 102 questions
Question 1 · Trainee

What evidence best shows that a hearing aid has reached its limit?

Question 2 · Clinician

What has happened to the candidacy 'crossover' line as implants have improved?

Module 11 · When the lesion changes the calculus

Self-assessment — Module 112 questions
Question 1 · Trainee

Why do hearing aids often fail in auditory neuropathy spectrum disorder (ANSD)?

Question 2 · Clinician

When does even a cochlear implant have no target?

Module 12 · From hearing aid to implant

Self-assessment — Module 122 questions
Question 1 · Foundation

What is the fundamental difference that lets the implant succeed where the aid fails?

Question 2 · Clinician

Which statement best reflects the modern status of the cochlear implant for severe-to-profound SNHL?

Module 1 · The test battery & cross-check

Self-assessment — Module 12 questions
Question 1 · Foundation

What is the cross-check principle?

Question 2 · Trainee

Why does Wolfe recommend running the physiologic battery before behavioural testing?

Module 2 · Pure-tone audiometry & calibration

Self-assessment — Module 22 questions
Question 1 · Foundation

Why are insert earphones preferred for pure-tone audiometry?

Question 2 · Clinician

Why must the RECD be measured individually in infants?

Module 3 · Masking — isolating the test ear

Self-assessment — Module 32 questions
Question 1 · Trainee

When is masking required for an air-conduction threshold?

Question 2 · Clinician

What is the plateau (Hood) method?

Module 4 · Bone conduction & the air–bone gap

Self-assessment — Module 42 questions
Question 1 · Foundation

What does an air–bone gap with normal bone conduction indicate?

Question 2 · Clinician

What is a spurious low-frequency air–bone gap?

Module 5 · Speech audiometry & rollover

Self-assessment — Module 52 questions
Question 1 · Trainee

What is the main role of the speech reception threshold (SRT)?

Question 2 · Clinician

Why are recorded (not monitored-live-voice) speech materials mandatory?

Module 6 · Tympanometry & immittance

Self-assessment — Module 62 questions
Question 1 · Foundation

Which tympanogram type indicates middle-ear effusion?

Question 2 · Clinician

Why must infants under ~6 months be tested with a 1000 Hz probe tone?

Module 7 · The acoustic reflex

Self-assessment — Module 72 questions
Question 1 · Trainee

Why is the acoustic reflex so sensitive to conductive loss?

Question 2 · Clinician

What does a present reflex at a normal level imply about degree of loss?

Module 8 · Otoacoustic emissions

Self-assessment — Module 82 questions
Question 1 · Foundation

What do otoacoustic emissions tell you?

Question 2 · Clinician

What does present OAE with an absent ABR indicate?

Module 9 · The auditory brainstem response

Self-assessment — Module 92 questions
Question 1 · Trainee

Which ABR wave persists nearest threshold and anchors threshold estimation?

Question 2 · Clinician

What is the electrophysiologic hallmark of auditory neuropathy on click ABR?

Module 10 · ASSR, ECochG & cortical responses

Self-assessment — Module 102 questions
Question 1 · Trainee

What can ASSR do that tone-burst ABR cannot?

Question 2 · Clinician

An enlarged ECochG SP/AP ratio supports which diagnosis?

Module 11 · Paediatric behavioural audiometry

Self-assessment — Module 112 questions
Question 1 · Foundation

What does behavioural observation audiometry (BOA) measure?

Question 2 · Trainee

From roughly what developmental age can visual reinforcement audiometry (VRA) give true thresholds?

Module 12 · Paediatric speech perception

Self-assessment — Module 122 questions
Question 1 · Trainee

What is Erber's hierarchy of auditory skill?

Question 2 · Clinician

What must be accounted for when scoring a closed-set speech test?

Module 13 · Speech-in-noise & valid testing

Self-assessment — Module 132 questions
Question 1 · Trainee

What does a speech-in-noise test report?

Question 2 · Clinician

Why does multi-talker babble depress CI users' scores more than steady noise?

Module 14 · Real-ear measurement & verification

Self-assessment — Module 142 questions
Question 1 · Trainee

What does probe-microphone real-ear measurement verify?

Question 2 · Clinician

Why must verification precede aided speech testing or a hearing-aid trial?

Module 15 · Loudness, tinnitus & non-organic loss

Self-assessment — Module 152 questions
Question 1 · Trainee

What does loudness recruitment do to the dynamic range?

Question 2 · Clinician

Which finding suggests a non-organic component?

Module 16 · Self-report & functional outcomes

Self-assessment — Module 162 questions
Question 1 · Foundation

Why use self-report questionnaires alongside booth tests?

Question 2 · Clinician

What is distinctive about the COSI?

Module 17 · Tele-audiology & the future

Self-assessment — Module 172 questions
Question 1 · Foundation

What is the main promise of tele-audiology?

Question 2 · Clinician

What is the limiting factor for remote and automated testing?

Module 18 · Putting the battery together

Self-assessment — Module 182 questions
Question 1 · Trainee

Which fingerprint indicates a cochlear sensorineural loss?

Question 2 · Clinician

What does the assembled battery hand to the candidacy decision?

Module 1 · Overview — will the implant beat the aid?

Self-assessment — Module 12 questions
Question 1 · Foundation

What is the central question of cochlear-implant candidacy?

Question 2 · Foundation

Who makes the candidacy decision?

Module 2 · How the criteria evolved

Self-assessment — Module 22 questions
Question 1 · Foundation

How have cochlear-implant candidacy criteria changed since the early 1980s?

Question 2 · Trainee

Beyond the numbers, what conceptual shift accompanied the loosening of criteria?

Module 3 · The audiological battery

Self-assessment — Module 32 questions
Question 1 · Foundation

Which test decides cochlear-implant candidacy?

Question 2 · Trainee

Why are recorded (not live-voice) sentences used?

Module 4 · Audiometric criteria & level

Self-assessment — Module 42 questions
Question 1 · Trainee

Why does candidacy testing use conversational/soft presentation levels rather than loud ones?

Question 2 · Clinician

What shapes exactly where the candidacy speech-score line sits?

Module 5 · Speech-in-noise & valid testing

Self-assessment — Module 52 questions
Question 1 · Trainee

Why is speech-in-noise testing part of cochlear-implant candidacy?

Question 2 · Clinician

Why must the speech-in-noise protocol be fixed and applied identically to every candidate?

Module 6 · Regulation & reimbursement

Self-assessment — Module 62 questions
Question 1 · Trainee

What does the FDA actually regulate in cochlear implantation?

Question 2 · Clinician

What is the real-world limit on off-label implantation?

Module 7 · Predicting the outcome

Self-assessment — Module 72 questions
Question 1 · Trainee

Which are the two strongest pre-operative predictors of implant speech outcome?

Question 2 · Clinician

What does an intact 'auditory foundation' represent, and why does prediction remain humble?

Module 8 · The actuarial odds model

Self-assessment — Module 82 questions
Question 1 · Trainee

How does the actuarial model define candidacy?

Question 2 · Clinician

Why can two ears with identical aided scores have different candidacy under this model?

Module 9 · Medical & otologic assessment

Self-assessment — Module 92 questions
Question 1 · Trainee

How does aetiology usually bear on candidacy?

Question 2 · Clinician

Why is meningitis vaccination part of the implant work-up?

Module 10 · Imaging in the work-up

Self-assessment — Module 102 questions
Question 1 · Trainee

What do CT and MRI each contribute to the candidacy work-up?

Question 2 · Clinician

Which imaging finding most often changes the candidacy decision (not just the surgery)?

Module 11 · Vestibular assessment

Self-assessment — Module 112 questions
Question 1 · Trainee

What is the main purpose of vestibular assessment at candidacy?

Question 2 · Clinician

Why are several vestibular tests combined rather than relying on one?

Module 12 · Paediatric candidacy

Self-assessment — Module 122 questions
Question 1 · Foundation

How is candidacy assessed in an infant who cannot give behavioural responses?

Question 2 · Clinician

Why is paediatric candidacy so time-pressured?

Module 13 · The expanding indications

Self-assessment — Module 132 questions
Question 1 · Trainee

Which of these is now an accepted expanded indication for cochlear implantation?

Question 2 · Clinician

What is electric-acoustic (hybrid) stimulation, and whom does it suit?

Module 14 · Cognition, dementia & the elderly

Self-assessment — Module 142 questions
Question 1 · Foundation

Is advanced age a contraindication to cochlear implantation?

Question 2 · Clinician

How does the hearing–cognition link bear on candidacy in an older adult with early cognitive decline?

Module 15 · Psychosocial assessment & expectations

Self-assessment — Module 152 questions
Question 1 · Foundation

Why is managing expectations part of candidacy?

Question 2 · Clinician

What does the psychosocial assessment commonly find in adult candidates, and what is the trend after implantation?

Module 16 · Cost, funding & access

Self-assessment — Module 162 questions
Question 1 · Trainee

What does the large gap between eligible and implanted patients mainly reflect?

Question 2 · Clinician

What is the 'most obvious candidate' rationing bias?

Module 17 · Counselling, ethics & consent

Self-assessment — Module 172 questions
Question 1 · Foundation

What does the cultural/Deaf-community dimension require of candidacy?

Question 2 · Clinician

When does informed consent need extra evaluation in candidacy?

Module 18 · Which ear, one or both

Self-assessment — Module 182 questions
Question 1 · Trainee

Which ear is often favoured for implantation, and why?

Question 2 · Clinician

What does a bimodal configuration provide?

Module 19 · Bilateral & bimodal candidacy

Self-assessment — Module 192 questions
Question 1 · Trainee

Why should bilateral implants be simultaneous or placed within a short interval?

Question 2 · Clinician

What distinguishes a second implant from a bimodal (implant + contralateral aid) approach?

Module 20 · The team decision

Self-assessment — Module 202 questions
Question 1 · Foundation

How is the candidacy decision ultimately made?

Question 2 · Clinician

Is 'do not implant' a legitimate outcome of candidacy assessment?

Module 1 · Our Philosophy: The Rational Checklist

Self-assessment — Module 12 questions
Question 1

In the MRI-predominant, selective-HRCT protocol, which candidates are screened with MRI?

Question 2

Which finding or feature would prompt adding a selective HRCT?

Module 2 · Imaging as the surgical blueprint

Self-assessment — Module 12 questions
Question 1 · Foundation

What two jobs does preoperative imaging do?

Question 2 · Trainee

Which findings are absolute imaging gates that redirect to an ABI?

Module 3 · HRCT technique & planes

Self-assessment — Module 22 questions
Question 1 · Trainee

Why does isotropic-voxel HRCT only need one acquisition?

Question 2 · Clinician

Which plane is the temporal-bone 'axial' plane?

Module 4 · MRI sequences & the nerve view

Self-assessment — Module 32 questions
Question 1 · Trainee

What do heavily-T2 sequences (CISS/FIESTA) show?

Question 2 · Clinician

What is the oblique-sagittal nerve view for?

Module 5 · Normal temporal-bone anatomy

Self-assessment — Module 42 questions
Question 1 · Foundation

By when has the cochlear duct coiled to its 2.5 turns?

Question 2 · Trainee

Why learn malformations through embryology?

Module 6 · Cochleovestibular malformations

Self-assessment — Module 52 questions
Question 1 · Trainee

Which classification is the worldwide-accepted scheme?

Question 2 · Clinician

How does a common cavity differ from cochlear aplasia with a dilated vestibule (CADV)?

Module 7 · Hypoplasia, IP & EVA in detail

Self-assessment — Module 62 questions
Question 1 · Trainee

What distinguishes cochlear hypoplasia from incomplete partition?

Question 2 · Clinician

Which incomplete partition carries ~100% gusher risk and IAC-migration risk?

Module 8 · Cochlear nerve, IAC & the ABI boundary

Self-assessment — Module 72 questions
Question 1 · Trainee

Does a normal-sized IAC on CT prove a present cochlear nerve?

Question 2 · Clinician

How do cochlear-nerve hypoplasia and aplasia differ for candidacy?

Module 9 · Ossification & fibrosis — patency

Self-assessment — Module 82 questions
Question 1 · Trainee

Why does MRI beat CT for early post-meningitic obstruction?

Question 2 · Clinician

What is the right response to cochlear ossification?

Module 10 · The facial nerve

Self-assessment — Module 92 questions
Question 1 · Trainee

Why is CT mapping of the facial canal essential before CI surgery?

Question 2 · Clinician

What does proximity of the apical turn and otospongiotic bone to the facial canal predict?

Module 11 · Middle ear, mastoid & vessels

Self-assessment — Module 102 questions
Question 1 · Trainee

What determines access in the transmastoid facial-recess approach?

Question 2 · Clinician

Which vascular variant most demands recognition before a drill-out?

Module 12 · Measurements & electrode selection

Self-assessment — Module 112 questions
Question 1 · Trainee

What does a cochlear duct length <25 mm indicate?

Question 2 · Clinician

When is a perimodiolar array appropriate?

Module 13 · Paediatric imaging & radiation safety

Self-assessment — Module 122 questions
Question 1 · Foundation

Why do children with profound loss need MRI, not CT alone?

Question 2 · Clinician

Does the intracochlear electrode migrate as the child's skull grows?

Module 14 · Intra-operative imaging

Self-assessment — Module 132 questions
Question 1 · Trainee

When is intra-operative fluoroscopy most useful?

Question 2 · Clinician

What does fluoroscopy allow in a common-cavity malformation?

Module 15 · Post-op electrode position

Self-assessment — Module 142 questions
Question 1 · Trainee

Which two complications does post-op imaging chiefly seek?

Question 2 · Clinician

Why does plain-film projection geometry matter?

Module 16 · MRI compatibility of the implant

Self-assessment — Module 152 questions
Question 1 · Trainee

Are cochlear implants compatible with MRI?

Question 2 · Clinician

Why can a recipient still have surveillance MRI for contralateral pathology?

Module 17 · Recent & emerging imaging

Self-assessment — Module 162 questions
Question 1 · Trainee

What makes cone-beam CT attractive for electrode imaging?

Question 2 · Clinician

How do diffusion-tensor and functional imaging extend the work-up?

Module 18 · The structured report

Self-assessment — Module 172 questions
Question 1 · Foundation

Why is the preoperative imaging report side-specific and structured?

Question 2 · Clinician

What must the report conclude with?

Module 1 · Anatomy of a Cochlear Implant System

Self-assessment — Module 12 questions
Question 1

What couples the external and internal parts of a cochlear implant?

Question 2

Which is hardware rather than coding strategy?

Module 2 · From Sound to Nerve: The End-to-End Signal Path

Self-assessment — Module 22 questions
Question 1

Tonotopy in a CI means…

Question 2

Which stage limits what the coding strategy can do?

Module 3 · The Transcutaneous Link and Telemetry

Self-assessment — Module 32 questions
Question 1

Back (reverse) telemetry returns…

Question 2

Why does coil alignment over the magnet matter?

Module 4 · The Nucleus Family Tree: From CI22 to CI600

Self-assessment — Module 42 questions
Question 1

How many intracochlear contacts has every Nucleus generation carried?

Question 2

In the Nucleus naming convention, what does the model number encode?

Module 5 · Choosing a Nucleus Array: Perimodiolar vs Lateral Wall

Self-assessment — Module 52 questions
Question 1

The Contour Advance is inserted with which technique to hug the modiolus?

Question 2

Why does a short perimodiolar array reach the same angle as a longer lateral-wall one?

Module 6 · Advanced Bionics: 16 Current Sources and Current Steering

Self-assessment — Module 62 questions
Question 1

Advanced Bionics' defining hardware feature is…

Question 2

HiRes Fidelity 120 current steering can create…

Module 7 · The HiFocus Array Family and Naida Processors

Self-assessment — Module 72 questions
Question 1

The HiFocus Mid-Scala array targets…

Question 2

The early HiFocus Silastic positioner was withdrawn because…

Module 8 · The MED-EL Philosophy: Long, Flexible, Lateral-Wall

Self-assessment — Module 82 questions
Question 1

A MED-EL array has 24 contacts but how many stimulation channels?

Question 2

MED-EL's design philosophy is…

Module 9 · SYNCHRONY, FSP and the SONNET/RONDO System

Self-assessment — Module 92 questions
Question 1

The SYNCHRONY implant eases MRI by…

Question 2

Fine-structure strategies (FSP/FS4) add what to the apical channels?

Module 10 · The Electrode Array as a Frequency Ruler

Self-assessment — Module 102 questions
Question 1

Human cochlear duct length varies between people by as much as…

Question 2

A shallow insertion typically produces…

Module 11 · Why 22 Electrodes Behave Like 8 Channels

Self-assessment — Module 112 questions
Question 1

A 22-electrode implant typically delivers how many effective channels?

Question 2

The main cause of the effective-channel ceiling is…

Module 12 · The Three Array Families: Lateral-Wall, Perimodiolar, Mid-Scala

Self-assessment — Module 122 questions
Question 1

The three array families are defined by…

Question 2

Perimodiolar proximity mainly buys…

Module 13 · Stimulation Modes: From Monopolar to Tripolar

Self-assessment — Module 132 questions
Question 1

Which mode is the most spatially selective?

Question 2

Why are pulses charge-balanced and biphasic?

Module 14 · Dynamic Range and Electrode-to-Neuron Distance

Self-assessment — Module 142 questions
Question 1

The electrical dynamic range (T to C) is typically…

Question 2

Bringing a contact closer to the neurons…

Module 15 · Materials, Reliability and MRI

Self-assessment — Module 152 questions
Question 1

The standard reliability metric for implants is…

Question 2

Magnet demagnetisation in MRI depends mainly on…

Module 16 · Electric-Acoustic Stimulation and Hearing Preservation

Self-assessment — Module 162 questions
Question 1

Electric-acoustic stimulation is indicated when a patient has…

Question 2

The major risk of EAS is…

Module 17 · Special Arrays for the Difficult Cochlea

Self-assessment — Module 172 questions
Question 1

In basal-turn ossification, the drill-out should not exceed about…

Question 2

When no modiolus exists (common cavity, IP-I)…

Module 18 · The Wider World: Other Manufacturers and the Pioneers' Electrodes

Self-assessment — Module 182 questions
Question 1

What made the University of Utah Ineraid/Symbion device uniquely valuable for research?

Question 2

Korea's TODOC array carries 32 contacts. Why does this not give roughly four times the resolution of an 8-channel map?

Module 20 · The Cochlear Implant of the Future and Choosing a Device

Self-assessment — Module 202 questions
Question 1

Why might optical/optogenetic stimulation surpass electrical?

Question 2

The recurring lesson about array choice is…

Module 1 · The Lineage at a Glance: Why Coding Strategies Keep Changing

Self-assessment — Module 12 questions
Question 1

Which transition does Wilson date to the early 1990s as the central movement in CI coding history?

Question 2

For the comparison of CA versus CIS outcomes, what does the high NU-6 correlation (r≈0.92) imply?

Module 2 · One Electrode, One Sound: The Single-Channel Era

Self-assessment — Module 22 questions
Question 1

What carrier did the 3M/House single-channel processor amplitude-modulate?

Question 2

What was the band-pass filter range in the 3M/House processor?

Module 3 · Compressed Analog: The First Multichannel Waveform Strategy

Self-assessment — Module 32 questions
Question 1

What is the principal channel-interaction mechanism in simultaneous analog strategies like CA?

Question 2

Which device/manufacturer is the classic exemplar of the Compressed Analog strategy?

Module 4 · Continuous Interleaved Sampling: The Pulse That Changed Everything

Self-assessment — Module 42 questions
Question 1

How does CIS eliminate the principal channel-interaction problem of Compressed Analog?

Question 2

What does CIS deliberately discard within each frequency band?

Module 5 · Tracking the Voice: F0/F2 Formant Extraction

Self-assessment — Module 52 questions
Question 1

In the F0/F2 strategy, what does the estimated F2 frequency control?

Question 2

How is F0 estimated in the F0/F2 strategy?

Module 6 · Adding F1: The F0/F1/F2 Processor

Self-assessment — Module 62 questions
Question 1

In F0/F1/F2, how is the electrode array divided between the two formants?

Question 2

Why did F0/F1/F2 still struggle with consonant recognition?

Module 7 · Multipeak (MPEAK): Formants Plus High-Frequency Bands

Self-assessment — Module 72 questions
Question 1

What did MPEAK add to the F0/F1/F2 strategy?

Question 2

What weakness of MPEAK most directly motivated the spectral-maxima approach?

Module 8 · SMSP: Letting the Spectrum Choose

Self-assessment — Module 82 questions
Question 1

What is the n-of-m configuration of the SMSP strategy?

Question 2

What does SMSP deliberately NOT extract that MPEAK did?

Module 9 · The n-of-m Family: SPEAK and the Rise of Peak Picking

Self-assessment — Module 92 questions
Question 1

What distinguishes SPEAK from a fixed n-of-m strategy?

Question 2

Why is SPEAK's per-channel stimulation rate so low (~250/s)?

Module 10 · ACE: Spectral Maxima Meet High Rate

Self-assessment — Module 102 questions
Question 1

What is the default stimulation rate for Nucleus cochlear implants using ACE?

Question 2

How many electrodes does the Nucleus-24 have, and of what type?

Module 11 · Chasing Fine Structure: FSP, FS4 and the Temporal-Pitch Ceiling

Self-assessment — Module 112 questions
Question 1

To which channels does FS4 apply temporal fine-structure timing?

Question 2

Approximately where does electric rate-pitch saturate for most CI users?

Module 12 · Virtual Channels: Current Steering and Current Focusing

Self-assessment — Module 122 questions
Question 1

How does current steering create virtual channels?

Question 2

What does HiRes Fidelity 120 use to place excitation across its virtual locations?

Module 13 · The Present Commercial Landscape: Four Makers, Five Philosophies

Self-assessment — Module 132 questions
Question 1

What is distinctive about how Oticon Medical's Crystalis encodes stimulation magnitude?

Question 2

How does PACE/MP3000 differ from standard ACE?

Module 14 · The Frontier: Deep Learning, Closed Loops and Light

Self-assessment — Module 142 questions
Question 1

What is the defining feature of end-to-end deep-learning sound coding?

Question 2

Why is optical/optogenetic stimulation pursued as a future direction?

Module 1 · From Decision to Theatre: What Preparation Must Achieve

Self-assessment — Module 12 questions
Question 1

Pre-operative preparation for cochlear implantation has three core jobs. Which set correctly names them?

Question 2

On the CIQOL-Expectations instrument, what proportion of candidates held pre-operative expectations exceeding their actual 12-month outcomes?

Module 2 · Fit for Surgery: The Medical and Anaesthetic Work-up

Self-assessment — Module 22 questions
Question 1

Pneumococcal vaccination is recommended for all cochlear implant candidates. What is the recommended minimum timing relative to surgery, and what is the magnitude of the risk it addresses?

Question 2

Cochlear implant surgery is elective. A 3-year-old candidate arrives on the day of surgery with a fever and an active upper-respiratory tract infection. What is the appropriate course of action?

Module 3 · Vaccination and Meningitis Prophylaxis

Self-assessment — Module 32 questions
Question 1

By what factor was pneumococcal meningitis elevated in CI recipients in the CDC cohort?

Question 2

Vaccine-naive adult CI candidate pneumococcal schedule?

Module 4 · The Multidisciplinary Sign-off and the Final Plan

Self-assessment — Module 42 questions
Question 1

At the pre-operative case conference, which factor most appropriately guides selection of the ear for unilateral cochlear implantation?

Question 2

According to CDC/ACIP guidance, when should pneumococcal vaccination be completed relative to cochlear implant surgery?

Module 5 · Counselling and Shared Decision-Making

Self-assessment — Module 52 questions
Question 1

On the CIQOL-Expectations instrument, what proportion of cochlear implant candidates hold pre-operative expectations that exceed their actual 12-month post-implant outcomes?

Question 2

When counselling the parents of a deaf child, which timing fact best conveys the urgency of an early decision?

Module 6 · Informed Consent: Risks, Benefits and Alternatives

Self-assessment — Module 62 questions
Question 1

During consent for cochlear implantation, a patient asks how likely it is that the operation will leave them with a permanently paralysed face. Based on reported frequencies, which figure best represents the risk of post-operative facial paralysis from intraoperative nerve injury?

Question 2

A counsellor is explaining meningitis-related consent requirements. Which statement is correct?

Module 7 · Preparing the Family and the Home

Self-assessment — Module 72 questions
Question 1

A cochlear implant team is counselling the parents of a child before implantation. Regarding the relationship between pre-operative expectations and post-operative satisfaction, which statement is best supported by the evidence?

Question 2

Two children with bilateral profound congenital deafness are implanted: one at 16 months and one at 40 months, both then receiving habilitation. Three years later, which outcome is most consistent with the evidence on timing of implantation?

Module 8 · What an Implant Can and Cannot Do

Self-assessment — Module 82 questions
Question 1

A post-lingually deafened adult asks what a cochlear implant will realistically give him. Which statement best reflects the honest baseline the team should convey?

Question 2

Which finding best supports spending counselling time to lower a candidate's unrealistically high pre-operative expectations?

Module 9 · Why Outcomes Vary: The Predictors Behind Expectations

Self-assessment — Module 92 questions
Question 1

Which factor is the single most consistent NEGATIVE predictor of post-operative open-set speech recognition in post-lingually deafened adult cochlear implant recipients?

Question 2

Regarding timing of paediatric implantation, the language-comprehension deficit at three years post-implant for children implanted before 18 months versus after 36 months is best described as:

Module 10 · Realistic Expectations by Group

Self-assessment — Module 102 questions
Question 1

Stem one?

Question 2

Stem two?

Module 11 · Measuring Expectations and Psychological Readiness

Self-assessment — Module 112 questions
Question 1

On the CIQOL-Expectations instrument, what proportion of cochlear implant candidates hold pre-operative expectations that exceed their actual 12-month outcomes?

Question 2

Which pre-operative factor most strongly predicts how well an adult recipient learns to use electric hearing, per the cited evidence?

Module 12 · Pre-habilitation and Patient Education

Self-assessment — Module 122 questions
Question 1

What to expect on switch-on day?

Question 2

Which behaviour reflects effective pre-habilitation?

Module 13 · Bringing It Together: The Preparation Checklist

Self-assessment — Module 132 questions
Question 1

On a pre-operative cochlear implant checklist, why is reviewing the CT/MRI a mandatory gate even when the surgeon expects routine anatomy?

Question 2

When setting expectations during pre-operative counselling, which statement best reflects the evidence the checklist should incorporate?

Module 1 · The Operation in Context: What Implant Surgery Must Achieve

Self-assessment — Module 12 questions
Question 1

What is the approximate insertion depth represented by full insertion of an array within the basal turn of the cochlea?

Question 2

In the large multicentre survey of 2,751 implants, what were the reported major and minor complication rates?

Module 2 · Surgical Anatomy of the Temporal Bone

Self-assessment — Module 22 questions
Question 1

Which three structures form the borders of the facial recess triangle?

Question 2

Which deep mastoid structure is the cardinal landmark identified before uncovering the short process of the incus?

Module 3 · Medical Fitness and Anaesthesia for Surgery

Self-assessment — Module 32 questions
Question 1

Why are long-acting neuromuscular blocking agents avoided during cochlear implant surgery?

Question 2

Approximately what proportion of individuals with profound congenital hearing loss have Jervell and Lange-Nielsen syndrome, prompting routine ECG screening?

Module 4 · The Incision and the Receiver Bed

Self-assessment — Module 42 questions
Question 1

Why did the inverted-J post-auricular flap replace the original C-shaped flap?

Question 2

To what thickness is the scalp over the receiver typically thinned, and why is over-thinning dangerous?

Module 5 · Mastoidectomy and the Facial Recess Approach

Self-assessment — Module 52 questions
Question 1

Which three structures bound the facial recess (posterior tympanotomy)?

Question 2

What is the chief rationale for the suprameatal (Kronenberg) approach?

Module 6 · Surgical Approaches Compared: Recess, Suprameatal and Beyond

Self-assessment — Module 62 questions
Question 1

In the suprameatal approach, the facial nerve is kept out of harm primarily because:

Question 2

Which is a recognised disadvantage of the suprameatal approach compared with the standard facial-recess approach?

Module 7 · Reaching the Scala Tympani: Round Window vs Cochleostomy

Self-assessment — Module 72 questions
Question 1

Through the facial recess, where does the round-window membrane lie relative to nearby landmarks?

Question 2

Why has the round-window approach regained popularity over a promontory cochleostomy?

Module 8 · Atraumatic Electrode Insertion: The Soft-Surgery Principles

Self-assessment — Module 82 questions
Question 1

Which manoeuvre is specific to inserting a precurved perimodiolar array atraumatically?

Question 2

Why is bone dust meticulously irrigated away before the scala tympani is opened in soft surgery?

Module 9 · Hearing-Preservation Surgery and EAS

Self-assessment — Module 92 questions
Question 1

What threshold change is conventionally used to define complete (functional) hearing preservation after implantation?

Question 2

Why are EAS arrays kept short (e.g., the 10 mm Iowa Hybrid)?

Module 10 · Securing the Receiver-Stimulator

Self-assessment — Module 102 questions
Question 1

Why do many surgeons now omit the drilled bony well and tie-down holes in favour of a tight subperiosteal pocket?

Question 2

How much redundant electrode lead is typically left in the mastoid of a young child, and why?

Module 11 · The Ossified Cochlea

Self-assessment — Module 112 questions
Question 1

Which intracochlear compartment is most commonly the first and worst affected by post-meningitic ossification, and why?

Question 2

A radical drill-out for a totally ossified cochlea most endangers which structure, requiring it to be positively identified before drilling the basal-turn trough?

Module 12 · Malformed Cochleae and the CSF Gusher

Self-assessment — Module 122 questions
Question 1

On preoperative work-up of a malformed ear, which modality is most decisive for confirming the cochlear nerve is present?

Question 2

Why is a perimodiolar electrode generally a poor choice in a common-cavity malformation?

Module 13 · Intraoperative Monitoring and Verification

Self-assessment — Module 132 questions
Question 1

Why are long-acting paralytic agents avoided during cochlear-implant surgery?

Question 2

An intraoperative ECAP (NRT) is robust on all electrodes, yet the array tip has folded back on itself. What does this illustrate?

Module 14 · Revision and Reimplantation Surgery

Self-assessment — Module 142 questions
Question 1

What is the principal surgical advantage of the fibrous sheath found around a previously implanted electrode at revision?

Question 2

Which statement about outcomes after cochlear reimplantation is best supported by the literature?

Module 15 · Minimally Invasive, Image-Guided and Robotic Surgery

Self-assessment — Module 152 questions
Question 1

In image-guided minimally invasive cochlear implantation, what is the minimum planned safety margin to the facial nerve for the drilled tunnel?

Question 2

Which is the main proposed advantage of robotic over manual electrode insertion?

Module 16 · Postoperative Care and the Road to Switch-On

Self-assessment — Module 162 questions
Question 1

Why is cochlear implant activation typically delayed to about 3 to 4 weeks after surgery?

Question 2

Which precaution is permanent for every cochlear implant recipient undergoing any future head and neck surgery?

Module 1 · The Watchful Operation: Why We Monitor and Preserve

Self-assessment — Module 13 questions
Question 1

Why can the surgeon not simply rely on watching and asking the patient during a cochlear implant?

Question 2

Which pairing correctly matches the two guardianship goals of the watchful operation?

Question 3

Electrocochleography during insertion principally serves which half of this chapter?

Module 2 · Guarding the Face: Intraoperative Facial-Nerve Monitoring

Self-assessment — Module 23 questions
Question 1

What is the principal real-time warning that the drill is irritating the facial nerve?

Question 2

As the bone island over the facial nerve is drilled thinner, the stimulus-evoked EMG threshold typically does what?

Question 3

Why is intraoperative facial-nerve monitoring considered effectively mandatory in CHARGE and malformed ears?

Module 3 · Is the Device Working? Intraoperative Impedance and Integrity

Self-assessment — Module 33 questions
Question 1

An abnormally low impedance on a cochlear implant channel classically indicates what?

Question 2

Why are electrode impedances typically lowest at the time of surgery?

Question 3

What distinct question does the integrity test answer that impedance telemetry does not?

Module 4 · Listening to the Nerve: Intraoperative ECAP/NRT

Self-assessment — Module 43 questions
Question 1

In approximately what proportion of recipients is an intraoperative ECAP recordable?

Question 2

A flat or absent intraoperative ECAP is MOST associated with which conditions?

Question 3

How should intraoperative ECAP thresholds be used for the first MAP?

Module 5 · Reflex and Brainstem: Intraoperative ESRT and eABR

Self-assessment — Module 53 questions
Question 1

Intraoperatively, how is the electrically-evoked stapedius reflex most simply detected?

Question 2

What does the ESRT primarily help set during fitting?

Question 3

Which waveform component is the key marker of the eABR?

Module 6 · Catching the Fold-Over: Intraoperative Imaging and Field Telemetry

Self-assessment — Module 63 questions
Question 1

On a transimpedance matrix heat-map, what is the signature of a tip fold-over?

Question 2

Why is detecting a fold-over BEFORE wound closure so valuable?

Question 3

Which intraoperative imaging tool best resolves whether the array sits in scala tympani versus scala vestibuli?

Module 7 · Where Is the Array? Verifying Electrode Position

Self-assessment — Module 73 questions
Question 1

Which scala is the intended target for a cochlear implant electrode array?

Question 2

Compared with lateral-wall arrays, perimodiolar (pre-curved) arrays are associated with:

Question 3

An abrupt reversal in the spread-of-excitation or transimpedance gradient along the array most specifically suggests:

Module 8 · Why Save the Hearing You Have

Self-assessment — Module 83 questions
Question 1

The principal speech benefit of electric-acoustic stimulation over full-electric stimulation is most evident in:

Question 2

Preserving residual hearing is valuable even when no usable acoustic hearing remains because:

Question 3

Expanded EAS/hybrid candidacy now includes patients who characteristically have:

Module 9 · How the Cochlea Gets Hurt: Mechanisms of Insertion Trauma

Self-assessment — Module 93 questions
Question 1

On the Eshraghi grading scale, the most severe (grade 4) intracochlear trauma includes:

Question 2

Delayed (progressive) post-implant hearing loss is best explained by:

Question 3

Pharmacological otoprotection (steroids, antioxidants, JNK inhibitors) is rationally aimed at which part of insertion trauma?

Module 10 · Soft Surgery: The Atraumatic Technique

Self-assessment — Module 103 questions
Question 1

Who is credited with the original description of cochlear-implant soft surgery?

Question 2

Why is a drop of hyaluronic acid placed on the opened endosteum during soft surgery?

Question 3

Which factor has the clearest technique-only evidence for improving residual-hearing preservation?

Module 11 · The Gentle Electrode: Atraumatic Array Design

Self-assessment — Module 113 questions
Question 1

Compared with lateral-wall arrays, perimodiolar arrays are associated with:

Question 2

For hearing preservation, the conventional insertion-depth target is approximately:

Question 3

The central design trade-off in atraumatic arrays is between:

Module 12 · Protecting the Cochlea with Drugs

Self-assessment — Module 123 questions
Question 1

The principal mechanism by which glucocorticoids protect the cochlea around CI surgery is:

Question 2

Compared with systemic dosing, intratympanic/local steroid delivery offers:

Question 3

Drug-eluting electrode arrays primarily aim to:

Module 13 · Listening as You Insert: Real-Time Electrocochleography

Self-assessment — Module 133 questions
Question 1

Which electrocochleographic component, generated mainly by outer hair cells and following the stimulus waveform, is the principal real-time signal watched during electrode insertion?

Question 2

What advantage does recording ECochG directly through the implant's apical electrode have over an extracochlear (round-window) electrode?

Question 3

What did the randomised controlled trial of ECochG-triggered intervention demonstrate?

Module 14 · Counting What Is Saved: Measuring Hearing Preservation

Self-assessment — Module 143 questions
Question 1

The HEARRING (Skarzynski) hearing-preservation classification expresses the result as a percentage referenced to what?

Question 2

What distinguishes 'functional' from merely 'measurable' hearing preservation?

Question 3

Why should hearing-preservation rates be reported at a later interval such as 6-12 months rather than only at activation?

Module 15 · What Preserved Hearing Buys, and Where This Is Going

Self-assessment — Module 153 questions
Question 1

Which auditory cues, poorly conveyed by electric stimulation, does the acoustic component of electric-acoustic stimulation help restore?

Question 2

What is the 'bail-out' when a recipient loses preserved residual hearing after electric-acoustic stimulation?

Question 3

How does robotic/motorised electrode insertion aim to improve hearing preservation?

Module 1 · What Programming Achieves

Self-assessment — Module 12 questions
Question 1

Why is the cochlear implant typically activated two to four weeks after surgery rather than on the day of surgery?

Question 2

Which statement best captures the overarching goal of cochlear implant programming?

Module 2 · Anatomy of the MAP: Thresholds, Comfort and Dynamic Range

Self-assessment — Module 22 questions
Question 1

What does the electrical dynamic range of a cochlear implant channel represent?

Question 2

Two biphasic pulses deliver identical charge but one has half the current amplitude. How does it differ?

Module 3 · The First Switch-On

Self-assessment — Module 32 questions
Question 1

An adult is distressed at switch-on because voices sound robotic and high-pitched. What is the correct interpretation?

Question 2

Why are larger measurement step sizes (e.g., 5 units ascending) often used when setting T levels at the very first activation?

Module 4 · Setting Threshold (T) Levels

Self-assessment — Module 42 questions
Question 1

Why are T levels usually based on the recipient's ascending rather than descending responses?

Question 2

In many modern Advanced Bionics and MED-EL programs, why has precise behavioural T measurement become less critical?

Module 5 · Setting Comfort Levels and Loudness Balancing

Self-assessment — Module 52 questions
Question 1

When balancing loudness across an electrode pair, which electrode's level is adjusted?

Question 2

Which best describes the typical shape of the upper-stimulation (C/M) level profile relative to the T-level profile?

Module 6 · Frequency Allocation and the Filter Map

Self-assessment — Module 62 questions
Question 1

Why does a shallow lateral-wall insertion create a place-frequency mismatch with default allocations?

Question 2

What happens to frequency allocation when an electrode is disabled in a contemporary system?

Module 7 · Strategy, Rate and Maxima in the Clinic

Self-assessment — Module 72 questions
Question 1

In an ACE program with a fixed total stimulation budget, what happens to the per-channel rate if maxima is reduced from 12 to 8?

Question 2

What did the large Nucleus Freedom rate study (500 to 3500 pulses per second) most consistently show?

Module 8 · Front-End Processing: IDR, Sensitivity and Noise

Self-assessment — Module 82 questions
Question 1

Lowering microphone sensitivity on a cochlear implant processor primarily does what?

Question 2

A typical medium setting of an adaptive channel-by-channel noise-reduction algorithm applies up to how much attenuation?

Module 9 · Programming the Young Child

Self-assessment — Module 92 questions
Question 1

Reliable psychophysical loudness balancing in children is typically not achievable until what age?

Question 2

In the ECAP profile-shifting method for estimating map levels in a young child, what is shifted and by how much?

Module 10 · Objective Measures at the Fitting

Self-assessment — Module 102 questions
Question 1

An intracochlear contact reads 0.4 kilohms and shares an identical voltage with its neighbour when only one is stimulated. This indicates:

Question 2

Why is ECAP threshold an imperfect predictor of behavioural T and C levels?

Module 11 · Troubleshooting the MAP

Self-assessment — Module 112 questions
Question 1

During an apex-to-base sweep, contact 12 sounds clearly lower in pitch than the more apical contact 14. The best management is to:

Question 2

A recipient complains the implant sounds tinny and over-sharp. The most direct map adjustment is to:

Module 12 · The Poor Performer: A Systematic Work-up

Self-assessment — Module 122 questions
Question 1

In the systematic work-up of a poor performer, which should be checked FIRST?

Question 2

A device passes in-vivo integrity testing yet the recipient has declining scores, pain at low levels and frequent failed reprogramming. This pattern best fits:

Module 13 · Bimodal and Bilateral Fitting

Self-assessment — Module 132 questions
Question 1

The principal acoustic advantage a contralateral hearing aid adds to a cochlear implant (bimodal listening) is:

Question 2

For an adult with single-sided deafness, the unique benefit of a cochlear implant over a CROS or bone-conduction device is that it:

Module 14 · EAS and Special Maps

Self-assessment — Module 142 questions
Question 1

In MED-EL EAS fitting, the default crossover frequency is set to:

Question 2

An electrode produces facial twitching rather than a clear sound. Before disabling it, a reasonable rescue step is to:

Module 15 · Longitudinal Care, Datalogging and Verification

Self-assessment — Module 152 questions
Question 1

Aided sound-field warbled-tone thresholds are used after implantation primarily to verify that the recipient:

Question 2

Children's threshold (T) levels typically stabilise:

Module 1 · What We Mean by Outcomes

Self-assessment — Module 12 questions
Question 1

Why do open-set sentence scores typically exceed open-set word scores in the same cochlear implant recipient?

Question 2

What is the main limitation of reporting cochlear implant outcomes as a single group mean?

Module 2 · The Outcome Test Battery

Self-assessment — Module 22 questions
Question 1

In the BKB-SIN test, how is the signal-to-noise ratio for 50% correct derived?

Question 2

Why was HINT sentences in quiet replaced by AzBio in the contemporary outcome battery?

Module 3 · The Adult Learning Curve

Self-assessment — Module 32 questions
Question 1

By roughly what time point do most postlingually deafened adults reach a plateau in open-set speech perception?

Question 2

The continued rise in adult speech scores over months of implant use, even without map changes, is best explained by:

Module 4 · The Variability Problem

Self-assessment — Module 42 questions
Question 1

In pooled multicentre analyses of postlingually deafened adult cochlear implant users, the standard preoperative demographic predictors together explain approximately what proportion of the variance in postoperative speech scores?

Question 2

Which test condition is most likely to mask the true between-subject variability in adult outcomes?

Module 5 · Duration of Deafness and Age

Self-assessment — Module 52 questions
Question 1

In postlingually deafened adults, which preoperative variable is most consistently the single strongest negative predictor of open-set speech recognition?

Question 2

Which metric has been found to predict spoken word recognition better than duration of deafness alone?

Module 6 · The Ear and the Nerve: Peripheral Predictors

Self-assessment — Module 62 questions
Question 1

Postmortem temporal-bone studies of former cochlear implant users found which relationship between counted spiral ganglion cell number and the word recognition scores those patients achieved in life?

Question 2

Which electrode-position finding is most consistently associated with poorer open-set speech outcomes?

Module 7 · Cognition and the Listening Brain

Self-assessment — Module 72 questions
Question 1

Which cognitive measure has been identified as the strongest cognitive predictor of speech understanding one year after implantation in older adults?

Question 2

Why does the same word-recognition score sometimes mask very different real-world experiences between two implant users?

Module 8 · Paediatric Outcomes: Language, Literacy and School

Self-assessment — Module 82 questions
Question 1

In the CDaCI study, children implanted before approximately which age tended to keep language scores within about one standard deviation of normal-hearing peers?

Question 2

Which factor was associated with better reading achievement in adolescents with cochlear implants?

Module 9 · Speech and Language Development in Children

Self-assessment — Module 92 questions
Question 1

Children implanted at 8 to 24 months and tested around 5.5 years achieved roughly what average speech intelligibility, compared with those implanted at 25 to 36 months?

Question 2

Which set of factors is repeatedly identified as shaping language outcome in children with cochlear implants, beyond the device itself?

Module 10 · Hearing in Noise and in Space

Self-assessment — Module 102 questions
Question 1

The speech-reception threshold in noise is defined as the signal-to-noise ratio at which a listener correctly identifies what proportion of the speech material?

Question 2

Why does a single cochlear implant provide only limited spatial release from masking?

Module 11 · Music and the Human Voice

Self-assessment — Module 112 questions
Question 1

Which aspect of music is best preserved through a cochlear implant?

Question 2

Why does voice-gender and talker identification remain difficult for many implant users?

Module 12 · Two Ears Are Better: Bilateral, Bimodal and SSD Outcomes

Self-assessment — Module 122 questions
Question 1

Approximately how much threshold improvement does binaural summation provide when the same sound reaches both ears?

Question 2

What is the primary audiological goal of implanting the deaf ear in single-sided deafness?

Module 13 · Patient-Reported Outcomes

Self-assessment — Module 132 questions
Question 1

What are the three sections of the Speech, Spatial and Qualities of Hearing scale?

Question 2

Which feature most distinguishes the CIQOL instruments from earlier hearing questionnaires applied to cochlear implant users?

Module 14 · Outcomes in Special Groups

Self-assessment — Module 142 questions
Question 1

Compared with adults under 65, elderly cochlear implant recipients most characteristically show:

Question 2

In late-implanted prelingually deaf adults, which statement best reflects realistic outcomes?

Module 15 · Predicting and Benchmarking Outcomes

Self-assessment — Module 152 questions
Question 1

Approximately how much of the variance in adult cochlear implant speech outcomes did the large Blamey 2013 analysis attribute to the standard preoperative factors combined?

Question 2

Which factor did the large Lazard model newly identify as significantly associated with better postimplant performance?

Module 1 · Why Rehabilitation Matters

Self-assessment — Module 12 questions
Question 1

Which two conditions must both be satisfied for an implanted child to develop spoken language?

Question 2

How does the rehabilitation task of a post-lingually deafened adult differ from that of a congenitally deaf infant?

Module 2 · The Rehabilitation Team and Pathway

Self-assessment — Module 22 questions
Question 1

In the auditory-verbal approach to paediatric rehabilitation, who is the primary agent of change?

Question 2

Which member is characteristically part of an ADULT cochlear implant team but not typically central to a paediatric one?

Module 3 · Plasticity and the Window of Opportunity

Self-assessment — Module 32 questions
Question 1

What does the latency of the P1 cortical auditory evoked potential index in implanted children?

Question 2

Why does prolonged auditory deprivation before implantation reduce speech-understanding outcomes in congenitally deaf recipients?

Module 4 · The Principles of Auditory Training

Self-assessment — Module 42 questions
Question 1

In Erber's listening hierarchy, the ability to determine only whether a sound is present or absent corresponds to which level?

Question 2

Which description best fits a synthetic (top-down) auditory-training approach?

Module 5 · Auditory-Verbal Therapy

Self-assessment — Module 52 questions
Question 1

In Auditory-Verbal Therapy, who is regarded as the primary agent of the child's listening and language development?

Question 2

A practitioner certified to deliver auditory-verbal therapy holds which credential?

Module 6 · Family-Centred Early Intervention

Self-assessment — Module 62 questions
Question 1

Which factor is considered among the strongest MODIFIABLE predictors of a young implanted child's language outcome?

Question 2

What is 'acoustic highlighting' as used by coached caregivers?

Module 7 · Developing Spoken Language in Children

Self-assessment — Module 72 questions
Question 1

Why is a child's post-implant language progress paced to 'listening age' rather than chronological age?

Question 2

Which factor is most consistently associated with stronger spoken-language outcomes in implanted children?

Module 8 · Speech Production and Articulation

Self-assessment — Module 82 questions
Question 1

Why does speech production typically improve after cochlear implantation in a child who is profoundly deaf?

Question 2

Which speech sounds are most often produced in error by implanted children, and why?

Module 9 · Adult Aural Rehabilitation

Self-assessment — Module 92 questions
Question 1

How does aural rehabilitation for a post-lingually deafened adult differ fundamentally from habilitation for a young deaf child?

Question 2

Why are adults often under-served by formal rehabilitation, and what is the consequence?

Module 10 · Communication Strategies and Repair

Self-assessment — Module 102 questions
Question 1

An anticipatory communication strategy is best illustrated by which action?

Question 2

Speechreading is described as complementary to the implant signal mainly because it supplies which cues that the electric signal conveys poorly?

Module 11 · Training for Noise and the Real World

Self-assessment — Module 112 questions
Question 1

When introducing background noise into listening training, the recommended starting level is one that:

Question 2

How does a remote-microphone system primarily help an implant user understand a single talker in noise?

Module 12 · Music Rehabilitation

Self-assessment — Module 122 questions
Question 1

Why is rhythm the most accessible musical dimension for cochlear implant users?

Question 2

Adding residual low-frequency acoustic hearing (via EAS or a contralateral hearing aid) most improves which aspect of music perception?

Module 13 · Technology and Telepractice in Rehabilitation

Self-assessment — Module 132 questions
Question 1

A controlled pilot comparing auditory-verbal therapy delivered by telepractice versus in person in toddlers found:

Question 2

Which best describes the role of computer- and app-based auditory training in a rehabilitation plan?

Module 14 · School Transition and Educational Support

Self-assessment — Module 142 questions
Question 1

Why does a remote-microphone/FM system help a child with a cochlear implant in a noisy classroom when simply increasing processor volume does not?

Question 2

Which statement about mainstream placement of an implanted child is most accurate?

Module 15 · Measuring Progress and Steering Therapy

Self-assessment — Module 152 questions
Question 1

What is the primary purpose of running the Ling six-sound test as a daily check?

Question 2

Which tool is a structured parent-interview scale of everyday auditory behaviours scored on a hierarchy from device attachment to speech comprehension?

Module 1 · Beyond the Audiogram: Why Outcomes and Value Matter

Self-assessment — Module 12 questions
Question 1

What do 0.00 and 1.00 mean?

Question 2

Why disease-specific over SF-36?

Module 2 · What Is Quality of Life, and How Do You Put a Number on It?

Self-assessment — Module 22 questions
Question 1

A patient is expected to live 20 more years at a constant health utility of 0.2. How many QALYs is that, and why?

Question 2

Which best contrasts a generic preference-based instrument (HUI3, EQ-5D) with a disease-specific one (CIQOL) in CI evaluation?

Module 3 · The Generic Yardsticks: HUI3, EQ-5D and Utility

Self-assessment — Module 32 questions
Question 1

Which instrument is preferred for CI cost-utility analysis because it explicitly contains a hearing attribute?

Question 2

Pooled across seven studies adults gain about +0.26 in HUI3 utility after CI, supporting a weighted-average cost-utility near which value?

Module 4 · Hearing Through the Patient's Ears: Disease-Specific Instruments

Self-assessment — Module 42 questions
Question 1

A clinician wants to measure the change in a patient's quality of life specifically attributable to a cochlear implant operation, using a single summary score from -100 to +100. Which instrument is designed for exactly this purpose?

Question 2

On the Speech, Spatial and Qualities of Hearing scale (SSQ), how do cochlear implant users typically score relative to hearing-aid users, and on which dimension is the gap most pronounced?

Module 5 · Does It Help? Quality-of-Life Gains in Adults

Self-assessment — Module 52 questions
Question 1

Pooled across seven adult cochlear-implant studies, what is the approximate mean health-utility gain after implantation on a 0.00 (death) to 1.00 (perfect health) scale?

Question 2

Why do generic preference-based instruments (HUI Mark III, EQ-5D, SF-6D) tend to UNDERESTIMATE cochlear-implant benefit compared with disease-specific tools like the NCIQ or CIQOL?

Module 6 · The Child and the Family: Quality of Life in Pediatric Implantation

Self-assessment — Module 62 questions
Question 1

When are parent-proxy quality-of-life reports for children with cochlear implants in CLOSEST agreement with the child's own self-report?

Question 2

A UK national cohort comparing implanted and unimplanted deaf children found which difference in mainstream school attendance?

Module 7 · The Economist's Toolkit: QALYs, ICERs and Thresholds

Self-assessment — Module 72 questions
Question 1

A patient is expected to live 25 more years. Without an implant her utility is 0.45; with one it rises to 0.70 for life. Ignoring discounting and costs, how many QALYs does the implant gain her?

Question 2

In a cost-utility analysis, what does the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) represent?

Module 8 · Counting the Costs: A Lifetime of an Implant

Self-assessment — Module 82 questions
Question 1

In a lifetime cost-utility model, why is surgical morbidity usually represented as a temporary reduction in health utility rather than a line-item cash cost?

Question 2

Adult unilateral implantation costs roughly $12,847 per QALY. Adding a second implant typically costs how much per additional QALY, and what does this imply?

Module 9 · Was It Worth It? Cost-Effectiveness in Adults

Self-assessment — Module 92 questions
Question 1

In the pooled adult cochlear-implant cost-utility literature, the most frequently cited weighted-average cost per QALY for unilateral implantation is approximately:

Question 2

Why do generic preference-based instruments such as the HUI and EQ-5D tend to underestimate the benefit of cochlear implantation compared with disease-specific tools like the NCIQ or CIQOL?

Module 10 · The Strongest Case: Cost-Effectiveness in Children

Self-assessment — Module 102 questions
Question 1

S1?

Question 2

S2?

Module 11 · The Second Ear and the Hard Cases

Self-assessment — Module 112 questions
Question 1

Why is the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio for the second cochlear implant typically much higher (~$50,000-$150,000+/QALY) than for the first (~$12,847/QALY)?

Question 2

Which statement best reflects the economics captured in NICE Technology Appraisal TA166 and related analyses?

Module 12 · Value Beyond the Clinic: Education, Work and Society

Self-assessment — Module 122 questions
Question 1

Pooled cost-utility analyses of adult unilateral cochlear implantation report a weighted-average ICER of approximately which value, placing the implant within the customary $20,000-$50,000 per-QALY cost-effective range?

Question 2

What does the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) measure, and why is it the central comparison metric in cost-utility analysis?

Module 13 · Worth It for Whom? Access, Equity and the Global Picture

Self-assessment — Module 132 questions
Question 1

A cochlear-implant programme has a cost-utility ratio of $13,000 per QALY. In which country is it MOST likely to be classified as NOT cost-effective under the WHO-CHOICE 1-3x GDP-per-capita rule?

Question 2

Roughly what fraction of the global moderate-to-profound hearing-loss burden lies in low- and middle-income countries, and what share of candidates there are actually implanted, the gap that drives the chapter's equity argument?

Module 1 · Who Are the Special Populations?

Self-assessment — Module 12 questions
Question 1

Which feature best characterises a special-population cochlear implant candidate?

Question 2

Cochlear implant candidacy over the past decades is best described as:

Module 2 · Single-Sided Deafness and Asymmetric Loss

Self-assessment — Module 22 questions
Question 1

What is the principal advantage of a cochlear implant over a CROS or bone-conduction device in single-sided deafness?

Question 2

Which variable most strongly predicts benefit and daily use after cochlear implantation for single-sided deafness?

Module 3 · Auditory Neuropathy Spectrum Disorder

Self-assessment — Module 32 questions
Question 1

Which test combination defines auditory neuropathy spectrum disorder?

Question 2

Why does cochlear implantation often work well in OTOF-related auditory neuropathy?

Module 4 · Cochlear Nerve Deficiency

Self-assessment — Module 42 questions
Question 1

Which imaging finding best confirms the presence or absence of the cochlear nerve before implantation?

Question 2

Why can some children with an apparently absent cochlear nerve still derive meaningful benefit from a cochlear implant?

Module 5 · Malformed Inner Ears: Candidacy and Expectations

Self-assessment — Module 52 questions
Question 1

Which single factor most strongly governs whether a malformed inner ear will benefit from an implant?

Question 2

Which group of malformations tends to achieve the best speech-recognition outcomes after implantation?

Module 6 · Post-Meningitic Deafness and the Ossified Cochlea

Self-assessment — Module 62 questions
Question 1

Where does post-meningitic cochlear ossification typically begin?

Question 2

Why can implantation still help an ossified post-meningitic cochlea even with a partial insertion?

Module 7 · Otosclerosis, Meniere's and the Diseased Ear

Self-assessment — Module 72 questions
Question 1

Why is facial nerve stimulation so much more common after cochlear implantation in far-advanced otosclerosis than in a normal cochlea?

Question 2

What is the principal reason cochlear implantation is offered in end-stage Meniere's disease?

Module 8 · The Very Young Infant

Self-assessment — Module 82 questions
Question 1

What year did the FDA lower the approved age of cochlear implantation to nine months?

Question 2

How do surgical and anaesthetic complication rates in infants under twelve months compare with older children?

Module 9 · The Older Adult and Cognition

Self-assessment — Module 92 questions
Question 1

What should principally determine whether an older adult is offered a cochlear implant?

Question 2

How do speech and quality-of-life outcomes typically compare between older and younger cochlear implant recipients?

Module 10 · Children with Additional Disabilities

Self-assessment — Module 102 questions
Question 1

Approximately what proportion of children with severe-to-profound hearing loss are reported to have a significant additional disability?

Question 2

In a deaf child whose spoken-language delay is roughly commensurate with a low non-verbal IQ, the most reasonable interpretation is that:

Module 11 · Syndromic Deafness

Self-assessment — Module 112 questions
Question 1

Why is early cochlear implantation argued for so strongly in Usher syndrome type 1?

Question 2

Which inner-ear finding should the surgeon anticipate in Pendred syndrome / enlarged vestibular aqueduct?

Module 12 · Prelingual Adolescents and Adults

Self-assessment — Module 122 questions
Question 1

Why is fluent open-set speech understanding rarely achieved when a congenitally deaf adult is implanted late?

Question 2

Which is the strongest favourable predictor of better outcome in a late-implanted prelingual candidate?

Module 13 · The Only-Hearing Ear and the Medically Complex Patient

Self-assessment — Module 132 questions
Question 1

Why has the historical refusal to implant a patient's only or better-hearing ear become largely outdated?

Question 2

A 70-year-old on warfarin for atrial fibrillation is a strong cochlear implant candidate. What does the evidence support regarding her anticoagulation?

Module 14 · When the Cochlea or Nerve Cannot Be Used: ABI Candidates

Self-assessment — Module 142 questions
Question 1

Where is the auditory brainstem implant electrode array placed?

Question 2

Why do non-tumour brainstem-implant recipients generally outperform NF2 recipients?

Module 15 · Special Populations in Low-Resource Settings

Self-assessment — Module 152 questions
Question 1

Approximately what fraction of people with disabling hearing loss live in low- and middle-income countries?

Question 2

What feature most distinguishes India's ADIP scheme as an effective low-resource access model?

Module 1 · When the Cochlea Is Built Differently

Self-assessment — Module 13 questions
Question 1

Approximately what proportion of congenital sensorineural hearing loss shows a radiologically detectable inner-ear malformation?

Question 2

Which structure is the true determinant of a cochlear implant versus an auditory brainstem implant in a malformed ear?

Question 3

Which two intra-operative hazards are most characteristic of inner-ear malformations?

Module 2 · How the Inner Ear Is Made — and Mis-Made

Self-assessment — Module 23 questions
Question 1

From which embryonic structure does the membranous labyrinth of the inner ear arise?

Question 2

By roughly which week of gestation has the cochlear duct completed its two-and-a-half turns?

Question 3

Why are incomplete partitions among the mildest inner-ear malformations?

Module 3 · Naming the Malformations: Jackler, Sennaroğlu and Grover

Self-assessment — Module 33 questions
Question 1

What was the principal organising idea behind Jackler's 1987 classification?

Question 2

Which incomplete-partition subtype is the classic Mondini deformity, typically with a deficient apical modiolus and frequent enlarged vestibular aqueduct?

Question 3

What key structure do the original classical classifications fail to grade, despite its decisive role in candidacy?

Module 4 · The Empty Promontory: Michel Aplasia and the Rudimentary Otocyst

Self-assessment — Module 43 questions
Question 1

Michel aplasia results from developmental arrest at approximately which gestational time point?

Question 2

How is a rudimentary otocyst best distinguished from a common cavity?

Question 3

Why is a cochlear implant inappropriate in Michel aplasia and the rudimentary otocyst?

Module 5 · Too Little Cochlea: Aplasia and Hypoplasia

Self-assessment — Module 53 questions
Question 1

What single imaging feature most cleanly separates cochlear aplasia from Michel aplasia?

Question 2

In cochlear hypoplasia, which two structures are the key variables predicting implant benefit?

Question 3

Why is a full-length cochlear-implant array usually inappropriate in cochlear hypoplasia?

Module 6 · One Chamber for Everything: The Common Cavity

Self-assessment — Module 63 questions
Question 1

Why does a perimodiolar (modiolus-seeking) array make little sense in a common cavity?

Question 2

What two intraoperative hazards are especially associated with common-cavity surgery?

Question 3

How does a common cavity differ from cochlear aplasia with a dilated vestibule?

Module 7 · The Incomplete Partitions: IP-I, IP-II and IP-III

Self-assessment — Module 73 questions
Question 1

What structural deficiency defines the incomplete partitions as a group, separating them from cochlear hypoplasia?

Question 2

Why are cochlear-implant outcomes in IP-II usually good?

Question 3

Which IP type is associated with POU3F4 mutations and an almost universal CSF gusher?

Module 8 · The Enlarged Vestibular Aqueduct

Self-assessment — Module 83 questions
Question 1

Under the Cincinnati criteria, which measurement defines an enlarged vestibular aqueduct?

Question 2

Which gene is most strongly associated with EVA and Pendred syndrome?

Question 3

What fluid finding should the surgeon expect and counsel for in a typical EVA cochleostomy?

Module 9 · The Decider: The Cochlear Nerve and Its Bony Canal

Self-assessment — Module 93 questions
Question 1

On CT, what bony cochlear nerve canal width should prompt MRI to look for cochlear nerve deficiency?

Question 2

In the parasagittal oblique view of the internal auditory canal, where does the cochlear nerve normally sit?

Question 3

How does the device decision differ between cochlear nerve aplasia and hypoplasia?

Module 10 · Reading the Malformed Ear: CT and MRI

Self-assessment — Module 103 questions
Question 1

Which structure is best assessed on a parasagittal-oblique MRI reconstruction through the internal auditory canal?

Question 2

A vestibular aqueduct is considered enlarged by the Valvassori-Clemis criterion when its midpoint width exceeds:

Question 3

On CT, an absent modiolus with a wide communication between the internal auditory canal and the cochlear basal turn should prompt the surgeon to anticipate:

Module 11 · The Genes Behind the Shapes

Self-assessment — Module 113 questions
Question 1

Biallelic SLC26A4 mutations classically produce which combination?

Question 2

A child with semicircular-canal aplasia and suspected cochlear-nerve deficiency should be tested for mutations in which gene?

Question 3

Why do membranous malformations (e.g. SLC26A4-related) generally implant better than syndromic malformations with cochlear-nerve deficiency?

Module 12 · In the Operating Room: Gusher, Facial Nerve and the Difficult Insertion

Self-assessment — Module 123 questions
Question 1

A perilymph/CSF gusher at cochleostomy is most strongly predicted by which imaging finding?

Question 2

Which precaution is mandatory in cochlear implantation of every malformed ear because of the displaced facial-nerve course in conditions such as CHARGE?

Question 3

In a common-cavity malformation, the principal misplacement the surgeon must guard against is:

Module 13 · Choosing the Array, Setting Expectations: Electrodes and Outcomes

Self-assessment — Module 133 questions
Question 1

Why are perimodiolar arrays generally avoided in cochleae with a deficient modiolus?

Question 2

Which finding is the single strongest negative predictor of cochlear implant outcome in a malformed ear?

Question 3

Which malformations most often approach normal-anatomy open-set speech results after implantation?

Module 14 · A Prognosis-Oriented Algorithm for Decision-Making

Self-assessment — Module 143 questions
Question 1

What do the Jackler, Sennaroglu and Grover/SMS classifications omit that the author's algorithm explicitly routes on?

Question 2

In the algorithm, which incomplete-partition type carries a 100% expected gusher rate?

Question 3

A child with severe-to-profound SNHL has no useful cochlear lumen and an absent cochlear nerve. Which destination does the algorithm give?

Module 15 · From Diagnosis to Decision: Putting It All Together

Self-assessment — Module 153 questions
Question 1

Which branch point most decisively separates a cochlear-implant candidate from an ABI candidate?

Question 2

A conductive malformed ear with a useful lumen and a normal cochlear aperture and nerve maps to which destination?

Question 3

Which atlas chapters supply the inputs this decision pathway depends on?

Module 1 · Why Two Ears Are Better Than One

Self-assessment — Module 13 questions
Question 1

What is the primary everyday consequence of listening with only one ear once basic audibility has been restored?

Question 2

Why can a unilateral implant user have excellent quiet-booth scores yet report exhaustion in real life?

Question 3

Which of the following is NOT available to a single-eared listener?

Module 2 · The Cues the Brain Uses: ITD, ILD and Spatial Hearing

Self-assessment — Module 23 questions
Question 1

According to the duplex theory, which cue dominates the localization of low-frequency sounds?

Question 2

Approximately what is the maximum interaural time difference for an adult human head?

Question 3

Why do cochlear implants convey ITD poorly?

Module 3 · The Three Binaural Benefits: Head Shadow, Summation and Squelch

Self-assessment — Module 33 questions
Question 1

Which of the three binaural benefits is purely acoustic and obtained by nearly all bilateral implant users?

Question 2

Which benefit is the smallest and least reliable in bilateral cochlear implant users, because it depends on interaural timing?

Question 3

Approximately how large is the head-shadow benefit reported in bilateral implant users by Schleich et al. (2004)?

Module 4 · Finding the Sound: Localization With Two Devices

Self-assessment — Module 43 questions
Question 1

The dominant interaural cue used by bilateral cochlear implant users to localize sound is:

Question 2

Going from one implant to two typically changes horizontal RMS localization error by approximately:

Question 3

Front-back confusions persist in bilateral CI users mainly because:

Module 5 · Speech in Noise: The Real Payoff

Self-assessment — Module 53 questions
Question 1

The primary mechanism behind the bilateral speech-in-noise benefit when speech and noise are spatially separated is:

Question 2

The speech reception threshold (SRT) in noise refers to:

Question 3

Compared with a single lateral noise source, diffuse surrounding noise tends to:

Module 6 · Beyond the Booth: Real-World and Quality-of-Life Benefits

Self-assessment — Module 63 questions
Question 1

On the SSQ, the subscale where bilateral CI users most clearly outscore unilateral users is:

Question 2

The 'effect-size paradox' of bilateral implantation refers to the observation that:

Question 3

A practical advantage of the SSQ12 over the full SSQ is that it:

Module 7 · One Surgery or Two: Simultaneous vs Sequential Implantation

Self-assessment — Module 73 questions
Question 1

Which feature uniquely defines simultaneous bilateral implantation?

Question 2

A commonly cited advantage of the sequential approach is that it:

Question 3

Compared with children, adults considering a second implant:

Module 8 · Mind the Gap: The Inter-Implant Interval

Self-assessment — Module 83 questions
Question 1

In children, a longer interimplant interval is associated with:

Question 2

The cortical 'aural preference' seen with prolonged unilateral implant use refers to:

Question 3

Evidence on long-delayed second implants in older children shows that:

Module 9 · Two Ears for a Developing Brain: Bilateral CI in Children

Self-assessment — Module 93 questions
Question 1

A key reason bilateral implants matter more in children than in adults is that:

Question 2

Which classroom-relevant benefit is most directly tied to having two implanted ears?

Question 3

Current standard of care for a young deaf child with no useful residual hearing favours:

Module 10 · The Second Ear in Adults: Evidence and Candidacy

Self-assessment — Module 103 questions
Question 1

Which binaural advantage contributes the largest signal-to-noise improvement when speech and noise are spatially separated?

Question 2

In the Dutch randomized controlled trial of bilateral versus unilateral implantation in adults, the most consistent objective benefit of two implants was:

Question 3

Why is the second cochlear implant less cost-effective than the first in adults?

Module 11 · Best of Both Worlds: Bimodal Hearing (CI + Hearing Aid)

Self-assessment — Module 113 questions
Question 1

Bimodal hearing refers to:

Question 2

What does the acoustic hearing-aid ear primarily contribute that the cochlear implant cannot provide well?

Question 3

When is moving from bimodal hearing to a second cochlear implant most appropriate?

Module 12 · Making Two Different Ears Work Together: Bimodal Fitting

Self-assessment — Module 123 questions
Question 1

The primary goal of loudness balancing in bimodal fitting is to:

Question 2

An advantage of using a coordinated hearing aid and implant from the same manufacturer is that:

Question 3

If a well-fit, well-balanced bimodal configuration still performs worse than the implant alone and the residual ear has clearly declined, the appropriate next step is to:

Module 13 · The Missing Timing: Why Two Implants Aren't Two Normal Ears

Self-assessment — Module 133 questions
Question 1

Why do standard CIS/ACE coding strategies degrade interaural time-difference cues in bilateral CI users?

Question 2

What is the main consequence of having independent (unlinked) automatic gain control in the two processors?

Question 3

Which binaural ability is most preserved in typical bilateral CI users?

Module 14 · Choosing the Strategy: Bilateral, Bimodal or Wait

Self-assessment — Module 143 questions
Question 1

An adult CI user has good low-frequency residual hearing in the non-implanted ear. What is the reasonable first strategy?

Question 2

Why does early bilateral implantation matter most in young children?

Question 3

When is a second cochlear implant favoured over a bimodal trial in an adult?

Module 15 · Worth the Second Ear? Cost, Access and the Binaural Future

Self-assessment — Module 153 questions
Question 1

How does the cost-effectiveness of the second cochlear implant typically compare with the first?

Question 2

Which near-term engineering change most directly improves binaural performance in current bilateral users?

Question 3

Why is global access a central caveat to the 'binaural future'?

Module 1 · Why Implanting the Cochlea Touches Balance

Self-assessment — Module 12 questions
Question 1

Which vestibular end organ is closest to the cochlear-implant insertion path and most at risk?

Question 2

By caloric testing, the approximate risk of SEVERE or profound vestibular loss in the implanted ear is:

Module 2 · Anatomy and Physiology of the Balance Organs

Self-assessment — Module 22 questions
Question 1

How many sensory organs does each vestibular labyrinth contain?

Question 2

Why do current vestibular implants target the semicircular canals rather than the otoliths?

Module 3 · How Implant Surgery Injures the Labyrinth

Self-assessment — Module 32 questions
Question 1

In temporal-bone studies, which vestibular end organ is most frequently damaged after implantation?

Question 2

Cadaveric insertion pressure transients have been recorded at levels up to approximately:

Module 4 · Who Already Has Vestibular Loss: Etiology and Baseline

Self-assessment — Module 42 questions
Question 1

Approximately what fraction of CI candidates have some degree of bilateral vestibular hypofunction on caloric testing?

Question 2

In CHARGE association, the typical vestibular finding relevant to ear selection is:

Module 5 · Reading the Dizzy History and the Five-Minute Screen

Self-assessment — Module 52 questions
Question 1

A fall on the tandem head-shake Romberg is seen in roughly what proportion of patients with caloric-defined bilateral vestibular hypofunction?

Question 2

Brief vertigo (<10 s) triggered by Valsalva or loud sound most suggests:

Module 6 · The Vestibular Audiogram I: Canal Tests Across Frequency

Self-assessment — Module 62 questions
Question 1

Which vestibular test probes the LOWEST stimulus frequency?

Question 2

Compared with caloric testing, vHIT for detecting post-surgical vestibular change is generally:

Module 7 · The Vestibular Audiogram II: VEMP, Otoliths and Function Tests

Self-assessment — Module 72 questions
Question 1

Cervical VEMP assesses which end organ and reflex pathway?

Question 2

Which is the most sensitive single marker of CI-induced vestibular injury?

Module 8 · The Dizzy Patient After Implantation

Self-assessment — Module 82 questions
Question 1

At the bedside, the presence of nystagmus under Frenzel lenses after CI indicates:

Question 2

BPPV after cochlear implantation occurs in roughly what fraction of recipients in the first post-op year, and responds to:

Module 9 · Choosing the Ear: Vestibular Risk and Bilateral Implants

Self-assessment — Module 92 questions
Question 1

When vestibular function is asymmetric, the recommended ear to implant first is:

Question 2

Simultaneous bilateral implantation is most defensible (from a vestibular standpoint) when:

Module 10 · Atraumatic Surgery: Preserving Hearing and Balance Together

Self-assessment — Module 102 questions
Question 1

Compared with antero-inferior cochleostomy, the round-window approach is associated with:

Question 2

In a randomized trial, what intervention reduced post-CI dizziness?

Module 11 · The Child's Balance and Motor Development

Self-assessment — Module 112 questions
Question 1

After pediatric implantation, which test shows the largest deterioration, reflecting otolith vulnerability?

Question 2

Children with reduced vestibular function were found to have what change in cochlear-implant device failure risk?

Module 12 · Falls and the Older Recipient

Self-assessment — Module 122 questions
Question 1

Compared with the general population, the prevalence of falls among hearing-loss audiology-clinic patients is approximately:

Question 2

Why should vestibular suppressants be stopped after acute vertigo in an older recipient?

Module 13 · The Vestibular and Cochleovestibular Implant Frontier

Self-assessment — Module 132 questions
Question 1

A multichannel vestibular prosthesis primarily restores function by stimulating:

Question 2

Which finding best demonstrates that combined hearing-and-vestibular preservation is feasible?

Module 1 · The Complication Landscape: Classifying What Can Go Wrong

Self-assessment — Module 13 questions
Question 1

In the classic functional taxonomy, what makes a cochlear implant complication major rather than minor?

Question 2

Across large modern cochlear implant series, the major surgical complication rate is best described as:

Question 3

Which trio represents three distinct axes used to classify implant complications?

Module 2 · The Wound and the Flap: Skin, Healing and Breakdown

Self-assessment — Module 23 questions
Question 1

Which under-flap fluid collection is sterile serous fluid rather than blood?

Question 2

Why have modern minimal-access incisions reduced wound complications compared with the early large flaps?

Question 3

At what point does flap breakdown almost always force device removal?

Module 3 · Infection and the Implant: From Pocket Infection to Biofilm

Self-assessment — Module 33 questions
Question 1

Why is a biofilm-associated implant infection so hard to clear with antibiotics alone?

Question 2

Which organisms are the most common in cochlear implant soft-tissue and device infections?

Question 3

What is the principal rationale for pneumococcal vaccination in cochlear implant recipients?

Module 4 · In the Operating Room: Intraoperative Complications

Self-assessment — Module 43 questions
Question 1

The facial recess (posterior tympanotomy) is bounded by the chorda tympani, the fossa incudis and which other structure?

Question 2

Deliberate sacrifice of the chorda tympani during access most directly produces which symptom?

Question 3

Why is intraoperative imaging (e.g. conebeam CT or plain radiography) valuable before closing the wound?

Module 5 · Wrong Place, Wrong Path: Electrode Misplacement and Migration

Self-assessment — Module 53 questions
Question 1

Compared with apical placement in scala tympani, an array that translocates into scala vestibuli is associated with:

Question 2

Which array type is most prone to scalar translocation and tip fold-over?

Question 3

A previously well-functioning recipient develops a gradual performance decline with new facial twitching and changed apical impedances months after surgery. The array is intact on telemetry. What should be suspected?

Module 6 · When the Device Fails: Hard and Soft Failure

Self-assessment — Module 63 questions
Question 1

What distinguishes a hard failure from a soft failure?

Question 2

What does the cumulative survival percentage (CSP) describe?

Question 3

Why was an international consensus group convened around cochlear implant reliability?

Module 7 · The Twitch: Facial-Nerve Stimulation

Self-assessment — Module 73 questions
Question 1

Why does far-advanced otosclerosis predispose to facial-nerve stimulation from a cochlear implant?

Question 2

Which array characteristic is associated with a higher risk of aberrant facial-nerve stimulation?

Question 3

What is the principal clinical cost of deactivating electrodes to abolish FNS?

Module 8 · Beyond Sound: Non-Auditory Percepts and Pain

Self-assessment — Module 83 questions
Question 1

Which finding most favours a biological cause over a device fault for a non-auditory percept?

Question 2

What is the usual first reprogramming step for a culprit electrode evoking pain on stimulation?

Question 3

Why is each electrode change balanced against speech outcome?

Module 9 · The Dizzy Recipient: Vestibular Symptoms After Implantation

Self-assessment — Module 93 questions
Question 1

Which statement best reflects the reported burden of dizziness after cochlear implantation?

Question 2

Which mechanism is supported by the finding that round-window steroid application reduces post-CI dizziness?

Question 3

Across the vestibular test battery after CI, which pattern is typical?

Module 10 · The Poor Performer: A Structured Workup

Self-assessment — Module 103 questions
Question 1

Which presentation most strongly suggests a device or electrode cause rather than a host/central one?

Question 2

By consensus definition, a cochlear implant 'soft failure' is:

Question 3

Which is the correct first step in a structured poor-performer workup?

Module 11 · Listening to the Device: Objective Measures in Troubleshooting

Self-assessment — Module 113 questions
Question 1

An abnormally LOW impedance on two adjacent contacts most likely indicates:

Question 2

A normal manufacturer integrity test combined with abnormal in-vivo performance points toward:

Question 3

Which objective measure most directly flags an electrode tip fold-over?

Module 12 · Seeing the Problem: Imaging the Implanted Ear

Self-assessment — Module 123 questions
Question 1

Which imaging modality is best for determining whether the array lies in scala tympani or scala vestibuli?

Question 2

The main advantage of a plain cochlear-view radiograph over CT for routine position confirmation is:

Question 3

Why is intraoperative imaging particularly valued with precurved slim modiolar arrays?

Module 13 · Going Back In: Revision and Reimplantation

Self-assessment — Module 133 questions
Question 1

What distinguishes a hard device failure from a soft failure?

Question 2

Why is the fibrous sheath around the original electrode array surgically useful at reimplantation?

Question 3

What is the most consistent single cause of reimplantation across published series?

Module 14 · Living With the Device: MRI, Magnets and External Hazards

Self-assessment — Module 143 questions
Question 1

Which feature of a cochlear implant is responsible for most MRI-related problems?

Question 2

How does a self-aligning (diametric bipolar) magnet improve MRI safety?

Question 3

What is a sensible everyday precaution against electrostatic discharge for a child with an implant?

Module 15 · Children, Prevention and Building a Safer Programme

Self-assessment — Module 153 questions
Question 1

Why are implanted children at higher risk of bacterial meningitis than their peers?

Question 2

What must be allowed for when implanting a young child whose skull is still growing?

Question 3

What is the cornerstone of meningitis prevention in cochlear implant recipients?

Module 1 · The Frontier: What Still Needs Solving

Self-assessment — Module 13 questions
Question 1

Average adult cochlear implant performance on sentences in quiet has, over the last three decades:

Question 2

Why does adding electrodes beyond roughly eight independent channels usually fail to improve performance?

Question 3

Which statement honestly describes what a cochlear implant does and does not do?

Module 2 · The Steady Hand: Robotics-Assisted Electrode Insertion

Self-assessment — Module 23 questions
Question 1

On the iotaSOFT system, the surgeon-selectable insertion speed range is approximately:

Question 2

In the Paris RobOtol adult comparative study using straight arrays, scalar translocation with the robot versus the hand was roughly:

Question 3

Which best describes the current role of robotic insertion tools like iotaSOFT and RobOtol?

Module 3 · A Keyhole to the Cochlea: Image-Guided and Minimally Invasive Surgery

Self-assessment — Module 33 questions
Question 1

The defining feature of minimally invasive / percutaneous cochlear implantation is:

Question 2

In the Antwerp HEARO robotic series, the mean drilling error to the facial nerve was approximately:

Question 3

What best summarises the current status of image-guided, robotic minimally invasive CI surgery?

Module 4 · The Pharmacological Electrode: Drug-Eluting and Bioactive Arrays

Self-assessment — Module 43 questions
Question 1

What is the chief advantage of a drug-eluting electrode array over a single peri-operative dose of intratympanic dexamethasone?

Question 2

In human and animal studies, what bedside telemetry measure most clearly reflects the benefit of a steroid-eluting array?

Question 3

Which agent is the proof-of-principle for an ANTI-APOPTOTIC (rather than purely anti-inflammatory) approach to protecting the cochlea after implantation?

Module 5 · More Contacts, Less Trauma: Next-Generation Arrays

Self-assessment — Module 53 questions
Question 1

Why are parylene and polyimide attractive substrates for next-generation thin-film cochlear arrays?

Question 2

A research high-density micro-fabricated array can carry roughly how many contacts, and what extra capability have some such designs integrated?

Question 3

For a recipient with usable low-frequency residual hearing, which array characteristic best supports hearing preservation?

Module 6 · Closing the Gap: The Electrode-Neuron Interface

Self-assessment — Module 63 questions
Question 1

Why does adding more monopolar contacts fail to keep increasing the number of independent channels?

Question 2

What did an intraneural (penetrating) auditory-nerve array achieve in animal models, and what is its clinical status?

Question 3

How does close-field electroporation aim to bridge the electrode-neuron gap from the neural side?

Module 7 · Nothing on the Outside: The Totally Implantable Implant

Self-assessment — Module 73 questions
Question 1

Which component is internal in a conventional cochlear implant but would additionally need to be internal in a totally implantable device?

Question 2

In the 'invisible-but-chargeable' intermediate design, what is the external coil used for?

Question 3

Which of the following best describes the current clinical status of totally implantable cochlear implants?

Module 8 · The Microphone Under the Skin and the Power to Run It

Self-assessment — Module 83 questions
Question 1

What is the primary disadvantage of a subcutaneous (under-skin) microphone for a totally implantable cochlear implant?

Question 2

Energy harvesting from the cochlea's endocochlear potential is best described as:

Question 3

Which power approach is already mature and used in current commercial cochlear implant processors?

Module 9 · A Smarter Processor: AI and Sound Processing

Self-assessment — Module 93 questions
Question 1

Compared with classic Wiener filtering, neural-network speech enhancement in cochlear implant users has been shown to:

Question 2

An automatic scene classifier such as SCAN primarily:

Question 3

Why do front-end SNR gains from AI processing not translate one-to-one into perceptual benefit?

Module 10 · Care at a Distance: Remote Programming and Self-Fitting

Self-assessment — Module 103 questions
Question 1

In studies of remote cochlear implant programming, hearing outcomes were generally found to be:

Question 2

Self-fitting via remote-assistant fitting has the strongest evidence in which group?

Question 3

A key value of processor data-logging between visits is that it:

Module 11 · Regrowing the Ear: Hair-Cell and Neural Regeneration

Self-assessment — Module 113 questions
Question 1

Which transcription factor's forced expression produced new hair cells and improved thresholds in deafened mammals, establishing proof-of-principle for regeneration?

Question 2

Neurotrophins such as BDNF and NT-3 are being delivered to the cochlea primarily to:

Question 3

What is the honest current status of inner-ear regeneration in humans?

Module 12 · A Genetic Cure: Gene Therapy Restoring Hearing

Self-assessment — Module 123 questions
Question 1

Why is OTOF (otoferlin) considered the ideal first target for hearing gene therapy?

Question 2

Which statement about OTOF gene therapy and cochlear implantation is most accurate?

Question 3

A correct, non-hyped summary of OTOF gene therapy's current status is that it is:

Module 13 · Hearing in Light: The Optical Cochlear Implant

Self-assessment — Module 133 questions
Question 1

What is the central physical reason an optical cochlear implant could deliver better spectral resolution than an electrical one?

Question 2

Why does an optical cochlear implant inherently require gene therapy?

Question 3

What is the correct current status of optogenetic hearing restoration?

Module 14 · The Self-Tuning Implant: Closed-Loop Fitting

Self-assessment — Module 143 questions
Question 1

Which objective measure does the implant itself record to estimate the auditory nerve's response without behavioural input?

Question 2

What does anatomy-based fitting use to assign frequencies to electrodes?

Question 3

What is the honest current status of a fully self-tuning, environment-aware closed-loop implant?

Module 15 · The Bionic Ear: Putting It Together

Self-assessment — Module 153 questions
Question 1

Which of these emerging cochlear-implant technologies is genuinely in clinical use today rather than preclinical?

Question 2

Why is the staging of the 'bionic ear' described as uneven across causes of deafness?

Question 3

What does the chapter identify as the dominant global unmet need in cochlear implantation?

Module 1 · Why Music Is the Implant's Hardest Sound

Self-assessment — Module 13 questions
Question 1

Which everyday sound do most cochlear implant recipients find hardest to perceive?

Question 2

Speech remains intelligible through an implant largely because it depends on which cue?

Question 3

Why does poor pitch information hurt music recognition more than speech recognition?

Module 2 · The Building Blocks: Pitch, Timbre and Rhythm

Self-assessment — Module 23 questions
Question 1

The perceptual correlate of a note's fundamental frequency, and the basis of melody, is:

Question 2

Most melodic information in music lies in fundamentals in which range?

Question 3

In normal hearing, what two mechanisms together encode pitch?

Module 3 · What the Implant Keeps and What It Throws Away

Self-assessment — Module 33 questions
Question 1

Which musical dimension survives envelope-based coding (CIS/ACE) best?

Question 2

Although a CI array may have 12-22 electrodes, how many effectively independent channels do recipients typically behave as if they have?

Question 3

Why does raising the stimulation pulse rate on a single electrode fail to keep raising perceived pitch?

Module 4 · The Hardest Part: Pitch and Melody

Self-assessment — Module 43 questions
Question 1

Why does electrically evoked temporal pitch fail to convey most musical melodies?

Question 2

What is the main reason place-pitch is ambiguous in cochlear implant users?

Question 3

Compared with normal hearing, the average just-noticeable frequency difference for CI users is approximately:

Module 5 · Which Instrument Is That? Timbre Perception

Self-assessment — Module 53 questions
Question 1

Which two acoustic features most determine an instrument's timbre?

Question 2

Why do CI users find sustained string instruments especially hard to identify?

Question 3

Compared with cochlear implant users, hearing-aid users with similar hearing loss typically:

Module 6 · Rhythm: The One That Survives

Self-assessment — Module 63 questions
Question 1

Why is rhythm the best-preserved dimension of music for cochlear implant users?

Question 2

On which music task do CI users most closely match normal-hearing listeners?

Question 3

What is the key limitation of relying on rhythm in CI music perception?

Module 7 · Many Notes at Once: Harmony and Polyphony

Self-assessment — Module 73 questions
Question 1

Why are chords and polyphonic textures especially hard to perceive through a cochlear implant?

Question 2

Which type of music is generally MOST accessible to a cochlear implant user?

Question 3

Separating a singer's melody from a backing band through an implant is best described as:

Module 8 · Putting a Number on It: Measuring Music Perception

Self-assessment — Module 83 questions
Question 1

What is the key conceptual difference between music PERCEPTION and APPRAISAL measures?

Question 2

Which test is a clinically practical CI music battery with pitch-direction, melody, and timbre subtests?

Question 3

A melodic-contour identification (MCI) task typically requires the listener to:

Module 9 · Can Better Coding Help? Strategies and Music

Self-assessment — Module 93 questions
Question 1

Why do standard envelope strategies (CIS, ACE, SPEAK) limit music perception?

Question 2

What does current steering (virtual channels) aim to achieve?

Question 3

Why are the real-world music gains from advanced coding strategies generally modest?

Module 10 · Out of Tune: Frequency-to-Place Mismatch

Self-assessment — Module 103 questions
Question 1

The Greenwood function describes:

Question 2

Why does a shallow electrode array tend to make pitch sound shifted upward (sharp)?

Question 3

Anatomy-based (place-based) frequency allocation works by:

Module 11 · Growing Up Musical: Children and the Implant

Self-assessment — Module 113 questions
Question 1

Compared with post-lingually deafened adults, early-implanted children with the same pitch limitation typically:

Question 2

Which cue do paediatric CI users rely on most for recognising familiar songs?

Question 3

The strongest predictor of sustained participation in music lessons among children with implants is:

Module 12 · Rescuing the Melody: Bimodal and Electric-Acoustic Hearing

Self-assessment — Module 123 questions
Question 1

Why does acoustic low-frequency hearing help music more than the implant's electric channels?

Question 2

Compared with electric-only listening, electric-acoustic (hybrid) listening primarily improves:

Question 3

Which patient is best positioned for the largest music benefit from acoustic hearing?

Module 13 · Training the Musical Ear: Rehabilitation

Self-assessment — Module 133 questions
Question 1

Which music skill tends to improve MOST with structured training in CI users?

Question 2

A randomised crossover trial of online (home) music training found improvement in which outcomes?

Question 3

The most consistent overall pattern from music rehabilitation studies is that:

Module 14 · Enjoyment, Identity and Quality of Life

Self-assessment — Module 143 questions
Question 1

The relationship between measured music-perception accuracy and self-reported music enjoyment in CI users is best described as:

Question 2

Which type of music is generally rated MOST enjoyable by implant recipients?

Question 3

Focus-group research found that music contributes to recipients' quality of life mainly through:

Module 15 · Toward a Musical Implant: The Future

Self-assessment — Module 153 questions
Question 1

Why does music expose the limits of cochlear implants more than speech does?

Question 2

Which of the following is best classed as an INCREMENTAL, currently-available improvement for musical hearing?

Question 3

What is the main theoretical attraction of optical (optogenetic) stimulation for music?

Module 1 · Beyond Hearing: The Implant's Other Two Jobs

Self-assessment — Module 13 questions
Question 1

Why does cochlear implantation affect tinnitus and balance and not hearing alone?

Question 2

In what sense is the implant 'double-edged' for these extra symptoms?

Question 3

For a typical hearing-ear candidate, how should tinnitus relief be framed?

Module 2 · The Ringing in Silence: Tinnitus in the Deafened Ear

Self-assessment — Module 23 questions
Question 1

According to the central-gain model, what produces tinnitus after hearing loss?

Question 2

Roughly how common is tinnitus among people with severe-to-profound hearing loss?

Question 3

Which tool best captures how much tinnitus disrupts a patient's life rather than just its loudness?

Module 3 · How the Implant Quietens the Ringing

Self-assessment — Module 33 questions
Question 1

Which mechanism most directly reverses the maladaptive central gain that caused the tinnitus?

Question 2

What distinguishes residual inhibition from simple masking?

Question 3

Why does it matter which mechanism dominates in a given patient?

Module 4 · What the Evidence Shows: Tinnitus Outcomes

Self-assessment — Module 43 questions
Question 1

In systematic reviews of recipients with preoperative tinnitus, which outcome is most common after cochlear implantation?

Question 2

Which factor most undermines confidence that observed tinnitus improvement after implantation is a true treatment effect?

Question 3

How should tinnitus benefit be framed when counselling a bilateral candidate?

Module 5 · The Clearest Case: Single-Sided Deafness and Tinnitus

Self-assessment — Module 53 questions
Question 1

Why is single-sided deafness considered the clearest setting for implant-mediated tinnitus relief?

Question 2

Compared with a cochlear implant, what do CROS aids and bone-conduction devices do for the tinnitus of the dead ear?

Question 3

In an SSD candidate whose dominant complaint is incapacitating tinnitus, how does tinnitus factor into the indication?

Module 6 · The Hard Cases: When Tinnitus Persists or Worsens

Self-assessment — Module 63 questions
Question 1

Which preoperative profile is associated with being among those more likely to feel worse off for tinnitus after implantation?

Question 2

A recipient develops a new stimulation-related tinnitus percept after activation. What is the most appropriate first device-related step?

Question 3

How should the predictability of tinnitus worsening after implantation be described to candidates?

Module 7 · Setting Expectations: Counselling and Managing Tinnitus

Self-assessment — Module 73 questions
Question 1

What is the most accurate single statement to give a candidate about the effect of cochlear implantation on tinnitus?

Question 2

A recipient is still highly bothered by tinnitus three months after activation. What is the most appropriate next step?

Question 3

Which intervention has the strongest guideline support as an adjunct to the implant for persistent bothersome tinnitus?

Module 8 · The Electrode and the Labyrinth: How Implantation Affects Balance

Self-assessment — Module 83 questions
Question 1

Why does cochlear implantation put vestibular function at risk?

Question 2

Which finding is most characteristic of vestibular change after implantation?

Question 3

Why is bilateral implantation a particular balance concern?

Module 9 · Checking the Balance System Around Surgery

Self-assessment — Module 93 questions
Question 1

Which combination of tests best documents both canal and otolith function before implantation?

Question 2

When ears hear equally, which is generally the safer ear to implant on balance grounds?

Question 3

A recipient reports dizziness only when the processor is switched on. What does this most suggest?

Module 10 · Restoring the Sixth Sense: Why a Vestibular Implant

Self-assessment — Module 103 questions
Question 1

Oscillopsia in bilateral vestibular hypofunction is best explained by:

Question 2

Which is the most characteristic identifiable cause of acquired bilateral vestibular hypofunction?

Question 3

The central idea behind the vestibular implant is borrowed directly from which established device?

Module 11 · Building a Vestibular Implant: The Device

Self-assessment — Module 113 questions
Question 1

In a vestibular implant, the component that detects head rotation is the:

Question 2

Why must a vestibular implant deliver a tonic baseline pulse rate at rest?

Question 3

The Geneva/Maastricht human vestibular implant work was notable for:

Module 12 · Encoding Head Movement: How It Stimulates

Self-assessment — Module 123 questions
Question 1

Why does a vestibular implant modulate around a tonic baseline rather than simply switching pulses on for rotation?

Question 2

Current steering and precompensation in a vestibular implant are used mainly to:

Question 3

Which statement most honestly describes current vestibular-implant fidelity?

Module 13 · Does It Work? Vestibular Implant Outcomes

Self-assessment — Module 133 questions
Question 1

What is the principal physiological gain that defines a working vestibular implant?

Question 2

Why was placebo-mode (sham) testing important in the vestibular-implant trials?

Question 3

Which best describes the current clinical status of vestibular implants?

Module 14 · Hearing and Balance Together: The Combined Cochleovestibular Implant

Self-assessment — Module 143 questions
Question 1

What anatomical fact creates the hearing trade-off of vestibular implantation?

Question 2

Which patients are the most natural candidates for a single combined cochleovestibular device?

Question 3

What did the van de Berg intralabyrinthine case report establish?

Module 15 · One Device, Three Senses: The Road Ahead

Self-assessment — Module 153 questions
Question 1

What is the unifying vision that closes this chapter?

Question 2

Which improvement would most directly let multi-sensory implants stimulate cochlear, canal, and otolith targets selectively?

Question 3

What equity caveat should temper enthusiasm for advanced multi-sensory implants?

Module 1 · When the Cochlear Implant Is the Wrong Answer

Self-assessment — Module 15 questions
Question 1 · Foundation

The air-bone gap on an audiogram primarily reflects a problem in which part of the auditory chain?

Question 2 · Trainee

A cochlear implant is the wrong choice for which of these patients?

Question 3 · Foundation

Which device class enters the auditory chain furthest along, beyond the cochlear nerve?

Question 4 · Clinician

In single-sided deafness, what makes a cochlear implant uniquely able versus a bone-conduction device?

Question 5 · Clinician

The chapter's organising principle for device selection is best summarised as:

Module 2 · Mapping the Implantable Hearing Landscape

Self-assessment — Module 25 questions
Question 1 · Foundation

Which route to the cochlea is used by an active middle-ear implant?

Question 2 · Trainee

A passive transcutaneous bone device loses output compared to a percutaneous one mainly because:

Question 3 · Trainee

In an active transcutaneous bone-conduction implant, what crosses the skin?

Question 4 · Clinician

Which statement about the device-class map is correct?

Question 5 · Clinician

Round-window coupling has extended which device class into conductive and mixed losses?

Module 3 · How Bone Conduction Works

Self-assessment — Module 35 questions
Question 1 · Foundation

Von Bekesy's cancellation experiment demonstrated that bone-conducted and air-conducted sound:

Question 2 · Trainee

Below about 1 kHz, the dominant bone-conduction pathway is:

Question 3 · Trainee

Why does bone conduction keep working when the outer and middle ear are diseased?

Question 4 · Clinician

The often-quoted transcranial attenuation of about 10 dB is best described as:

Question 5 · Clinician

For device coupling, the physics implies that the ideal interface to the skull is:

Module 4 · Through the Skin: Percutaneous Bone Conduction

Self-assessment — Module 45 questions
Question 1 · Trainee

What is the chief audiological advantage of a percutaneous over a transcutaneous bone-conduction system?

Question 2 · Trainee

Which manufacturing and surgical condition most directly threatens osseointegration?

Question 3 · Foundation

The Holgers classification grades what?

Question 4 · Clinician

A standard percutaneous processor is most appropriate when the sensorineural component of the loss is:

Question 5 · Clinician

Compared with magnet-coupled passive transcutaneous systems, percutaneous devices generally:

Module 5 · Across Intact Skin: Passive Transcutaneous Bone Conduction

Self-assessment — Module 55 questions
Question 1 · Foundation

In a passive transcutaneous system, where is the vibrating transducer located?

Question 2 · Trainee

How does skin attenuation in a passive transcutaneous system vary with frequency?

Question 3 · Foundation

Which is a recognised magnet-related complication of passive transcutaneous devices?

Question 4 · Clinician

Regarding MRI, a passive transcutaneous system with a fixed internal magnet is typically:

Question 5 · Clinician

Compared with a percutaneous abutment system, the main clinical trade-off of a passive transcutaneous system is:

Module 6 · Power Beneath the Skin: Active Transcutaneous Bone Conduction

Self-assessment — Module 65 questions
Question 1 · Foundation

What fundamentally distinguishes an active from a passive transcutaneous bone-conduction implant?

Question 2 · Foundation

The Cochlear Osia drives bone using:

Question 3 · Trainee

What is the main improvement of the Bonebridge BCI602 over the BCI601?

Question 4 · Trainee

Why do active transcutaneous systems generally achieve higher output than passive ones?

Question 5 · Clinician

Regarding MRI, the Osia piezoelectric transducer is advantageous because:

Module 7 · Anchoring Sound to Bone: Implanting Bone-Conduction Devices

Self-assessment — Module 75 questions
Question 1 · Foundation

Why is a percutaneous abutment acoustically more efficient than a transcutaneous bone-conduction device?

Question 2 · Clinician

During Bonebridge (BCI) placement, what does 'lifting' the implant body achieve?

Question 3 · Trainee

How does the Cochlear Osia minimise bone removal compared with the Bonebridge?

Question 4 · Clinician

Which patients are at the highest risk of failed osseointegration and abutment extrusion?

Question 5 · Clinician

What is the safest assumption about MRI compatibility across bone-conduction implants?

Module 8 · Driving the Ossicles: Active Middle-Ear Implants

Self-assessment — Module 85 questions
Question 1 · Foundation

What is the defining principle of an active middle-ear implant?

Question 2 · Trainee

How does the floating mass transducer generate vibration?

Question 3 · Foundation

Which component distinguishes a partially implantable from a fully implantable active middle-ear implant?

Question 4 · Clinician

How does the Envoy Esteem avoid needing a separate implanted microphone?

Question 5 · Clinician

What recurrent practical limitation pushes fully implantable middle-ear devices toward repeat surgery?

Module 9 · Where to Clip the Transducer: Coupling and Surgery for Middle-Ear Implants

Self-assessment — Module 95 questions
Question 1 · Trainee

Why does the coupling site largely determine which hearing losses an active middle-ear implant can treat?

Question 2 · Trainee

Which coupling target is used when the ossicular chain is destroyed and cannot be used?

Question 3 · Foundation

What is the purpose of the dedicated couplers (RW coupler, PORP/TORP couplers, clips)?

Question 4 · Clinician

Why does a mixed loss generally demand more transducer output than a pure SNHL?

Question 5 · Clinician

An implanted Soundbridge underperforms with stable bone-conduction thresholds and imaging showing transducer shift. The leading cause is:

Module 10 · When the Sound Cannot Get In: Conductive and Mixed Loss

Self-assessment — Module 105 questions
Question 1 · Foundation

Which audiometric measure best reflects the true health of the cochlea in a mixed loss?

Question 2 · Trainee

A large air-bone gap with good bone thresholds is the signature of an ear best served by what?

Question 3 · Foundation

Why is congenital aural atresia a textbook indication for a bone-conduction device?

Question 4 · Trainee

As bone-conduction thresholds worsen in a mixed loss, the device choice tends to shift toward what?

Question 5 · Clinician

In far-advanced otosclerosis where stapes surgery has failed and the loss is now mixed and severe, what is a reasonable rehabilitation option?

Module 11 · One Dead Ear, Three Different Answers

Self-assessment — Module 115 questions
Question 1 · Foundation

What is the fundamental difference between a CROS/bone-conduction device and a cochlear implant in single-sided deafness?

Question 2 · Trainee

Which ability is recovered ONLY by restoring input to the deaf ear?

Question 3 · Clinician

Why do CROS and bone-conduction devices generally fail to relieve single-sided tinnitus?

Question 4 · Trainee

In randomised and pooled comparisons for SSD, which option ranks best for localization and spatial speech perception?

Question 5 · Clinician

A patient who refuses ear surgery and wants a reversible trial is best counselled toward what, with what caveat?

Module 12 · Reading the Audiogram to Pick the Device

Self-assessment — Module 125 questions
Question 1 · Foundation

For bone-conduction and middle-ear devices in conductive/mixed loss, candidacy is read primarily off which axis of the audiogram?

Question 2 · Foundation

What is the cochlear implant candidacy box, broadly speaking?

Question 3 · Trainee

Why is a softband or test-rod trial so valuable before a bone-conduction implant?

Question 4 · Clinician

Besides the audiogram, what can move a patient from one device class to another?

Question 5 · Clinician

In single-sided deafness, the audiometric criterion that defines candidacy is best described as what?

Module 13 · Reading the Evidence: How Well Do Other Implantable Hearing Devices Work?

Self-assessment — Module 135 questions
Question 1 · Foundation

Functional gain is defined as:

Question 2 · Trainee

Why can a device show a large functional gain yet still be a clinical failure?

Question 3 · Trainee

In the randomised single-sided-deafness trial, which intervention improved sound localisation?

Question 4 · Clinician

The dominant limitation of the outcome evidence for these devices is:

Question 5 · Clinician

Compared with passive transcutaneous bone-conduction devices, active transcutaneous devices tend to perform better mainly:

Module 14 · Choosing the Right Device: A Decision Framework

Self-assessment — Module 145 questions
Question 1 · Foundation

The single most decisive audiometric number when sorting patients toward bypass-versus-implant strategies is:

Question 2 · Foundation

In the decision pathway, implantable options are considered only when:

Question 3 · Trainee

A chronically draining, anatomically disrupted ear most favours which option within the conductive/mixed branch?

Question 4 · Clinician

When the cochlea is severely-to-profoundly sensorineurally impaired but the cochlear nerve is absent, the appropriate option is:

Question 5 · Clinician

A patient who will need regular surveillance MRI scans should prompt the clinician to:

Module 15 · Children and the Horizon: Paediatric Use and the Future of Implantable Hearing

Self-assessment — Module 155 questions
Question 1 · Foundation

In a child with microtia and aural atresia and normal inner ears, the hearing loss is:

Question 2 · Trainee

Why is a softband bone-conduction device used in infancy rather than waiting for surgery?

Question 3 · Clinician

The classic anatomical prerequisite for a percutaneous bone-anchored surgical fixture is:

Question 4 · Trainee

Bilateral bone-conduction fitting in a child with bilateral atresia is justified mainly because it:

Question 5 · Clinician

A key future direction blurring the lines between device categories is:

Module 1 · When the Cochlea Won't Do: Why a Central Auditory Implant Exists

Self-assessment — Module 15 questions
Question 1 · Foundation

What does an auditory brainstem implant stimulate?

Question 2 · Foundation

Why does a cochlear implant fail in a patient with an absent cochlear nerve?

Question 3 · Trainee

Which condition classically destroys both cochlear nerves and is a leading ABI indication?

Question 4 · Trainee

Which of these makes a cochlea unsuitable for a conventional cochlear implant?

Question 5 · Clinician

Compared with most cochlear implant users, the typical NF2 ABI user can expect to gain:

Module 2 · The Cochlear Nucleus Target: A Crowded Corner of the Brainstem

Self-assessment — Module 25 questions
Question 1 · Foundation

Where does the ABI electrode paddle sit?

Question 2 · Foundation

Which landmark flags the foramen of Luschka for the surgeon?

Question 3 · Trainee

Why does a surface paddle engage the speech-relevant VCN poorly?

Question 4 · Trainee

A throat tickle and cough on stimulating one ABI electrode most likely reflects current spread to which structures?

Question 5 · Clinician

Why is ABI pitch order determined by patient ranking rather than by electrode number?

Module 3 · From One Electrode to Open-Set Speech: A History of the ABI

Self-assessment — Module 35 questions
Question 1 · Foundation

Who performed the first ABI and in what year?

Question 2 · Foundation

For which group did the FDA approve the multichannel ABI in 2000?

Question 3 · Trainee

What did the original single-channel ABI mainly provide?

Question 4 · Trainee

Who led the European expansion of the ABI to non-tumour adults and children?

Question 5 · Clinician

The finding that non-tumour ABI users outperform NF2 users suggests that:

Module 4 · Who Needs an Auditory Brainstem Implant?

Self-assessment — Module 45 questions
Question 1 · Foundation

What anatomical structure does an ABI stimulate?

Question 2 · Foundation

Which feature most defines a patient who needs an ABI rather than a CI?

Question 3 · Trainee

Why is NF2 the classic ABI indication?

Question 4 · Trainee

What does the CI-first principle state?

Question 5 · Clinician

Which investigation best demonstrates an absent cochlear nerve?

Module 5 · The ABI Device: A Cochlear Implant With a Different Electrode

Self-assessment — Module 55 questions
Question 1 · Foundation

What is the defining physical difference between an ABI and a cochlear implant?

Question 2 · Foundation

Roughly how many active electrodes do contemporary surface ABI arrays carry?

Question 3 · Trainee

What was the PABI designed to do?

Question 4 · Trainee

What was the clinical result of the PABI trial?

Question 5 · Clinician

Which manufacturer's ABI is the one cleared for use in the United States?

Module 6 · The ABI in NF2: Implanting a Distorted Brainstem

Self-assessment — Module 65 questions
Question 1 · Foundation

When is the ABI typically placed in an NF2 patient?

Question 2 · Foundation

Why is the cochlear nucleus difficult to target in ABI surgery?

Question 3 · Trainee

Which intraoperative test guides ABI electrode positioning?

Question 4 · Trainee

Why do NF2 ABI users generally do worse than non-tumour users?

Question 5 · Clinician

What is a realistic primary goal for most NF2 ABI users?

Module 7 · When the Tumour Is Not the Problem: The Non-Tumour ABI

Self-assessment — Module 75 questions
Question 1 · Foundation

Why do non-tumour ABI users generally outperform NF2 ABI users with the same device?

Question 2 · Foundation

Which non-tumour aetiology tends to give the BEST ABI speech outcome?

Question 3 · Trainee

An adult with bilateral cochlear ossification gets only non-auditory twitching and inconsistent detection from a cochlear implant. The ABI is best described here as:

Question 4 · Trainee

Which risk must be discussed specifically because the non-tumour adult is operating purely to gain sound?

Question 5 · Clinician

What is the single most useful predictor of likely ABI benefit a clinician can give a non-tumour candidate preoperatively?

Module 8 · Hearing for a Brain That Has Never Heard: The Paediatric ABI

Self-assessment — Module 85 questions
Question 1 · Foundation

Which child is a candidate for an ABI rather than a cochlear implant?

Question 2 · Foundation

Why is early implantation emphasised in paediatric ABI?

Question 3 · Trainee

What is the recommended age window for paediatric ABI in prelingually deaf children?

Question 4 · Trainee

Why is operating on an infant under one year considered higher risk for ABI?

Question 5 · Clinician

What makes programming a young ABI child especially challenging?

Module 9 · Finding the Lateral Recess: The ABI Operation

Self-assessment — Module 95 questions
Question 1 · Foundation

Through which structure is the ABI electrode paddle introduced to reach the cochlear nucleus?

Question 2 · Foundation

A key advantage of the translabyrinthine approach over the retrosigmoid approach for ABI is:

Question 3 · Trainee

How is optimal positioning of the ABI paddle confirmed intraoperatively?

Question 4 · Trainee

Which set of landmarks is used to identify and bound the lateral recess?

Question 5 · Clinician

Which is the MOST frequent surgical complication of the ABI operation, especially via the retrosigmoid approach?

Module 10 · Finding the Sweet Spot: Intraoperative Monitoring

Self-assessment — Module 105 questions
Question 1 · Foundation

Why is intraoperative guidance more critical for an ABI than for a cochlear implant?

Question 2 · Foundation

Which feature characterises a well-placed ABI eABR?

Question 3 · Trainee

Why is a vertex-to-neck montage with bipolar stimulation preferred for intraoperative eABR?

Question 4 · Trainee

What does activation of a neighbouring cranial nerve at low stimulus current indicate?

Question 5 · Clinician

Which safety concern specifically requires alerting the anaesthetist before ABI stimulation?

Module 11 · Activating and Programming the Electric Brainstem

Self-assessment — Module 115 questions
Question 1 · Foundation

Why is the first activation of an ABI performed in a monitored, resuscitation-ready setting?

Question 2 · Foundation

What is done with an electrode that produces only a non-auditory sensation?

Question 3 · Trainee

What does pitch ranking accomplish in ABI programming?

Question 4 · Trainee

Why is ABI fitting generally slower and more individualised than cochlear-implant fitting?

Question 5 · Clinician

What is realistic counselling for most NF2 ABI users about expected benefit?

Module 12 · The Non-Auditory Side-Effect Problem

Self-assessment — Module 125 questions
Question 1 · Foundation

Why are non-auditory side-effects so much more central to the ABI than to the cochlear implant?

Question 2 · Foundation

Which of these is a recognised ABI non-auditory side-effect?

Question 3 · Trainee

How do non-auditory side-effects most directly limit ABI performance?

Question 4 · Trainee

Which programming adjustment can help reduce a non-auditory side-effect before an electrode is abandoned?

Question 5 · Clinician

How does cochlear-implant facial-nerve stimulation contrast with the ABI side-effect problem?

Module 13 · What an ABI Can Deliver: Outcomes and Honest Expectations

Self-assessment — Module 135 questions
Question 1 · Foundation

Across large ABI series, roughly what proportion of recipients perceive useful auditory sensations from the device?

Question 2 · Foundation

What is the single strongest predictor of whether an ABI user achieves open-set speech?

Question 3 · Trainee

How does the time course of ABI benefit typically compare with a cochlear implant?

Question 4 · Trainee

When ABI sound is added to lip-reading, the typical effect is:

Question 5 · Clinician

Which group shows the widest variability in open-set outcomes and the greatest dependence on early implantation and habilitation?

Module 14 · Nerve If You Can, Nucleus If You Must: ABI versus CI

Self-assessment — Module 145 questions
Question 1 · Foundation

Where does a cochlear implant deliver stimulation compared with an auditory brainstem implant?

Question 2 · Foundation

Why does a CI outperform an ABI when a functioning cochlear nerve exists?

Question 3 · Trainee

Which is a standard indication for an ABI rather than a CI?

Question 4 · Trainee

A child has bilateral cochlear nerve deficiency. The interface principle suggests:

Question 5 · Clinician

The maxim summarising ABI-versus-CI candidacy is best stated as:

Module 15 · Higher Up the Pathway: The Auditory Midbrain Implant and the Frontier

Self-assessment — Module 155 questions
Question 1 · Foundation

What anatomical structure does the auditory midbrain implant (AMI) target?

Question 2 · Foundation

Why is the inferior colliculus an attractive target for a penetrating array?

Question 3 · Trainee

What was the main lesson from the penetrating ABI (PABI) trial?

Question 4 · Trainee

In the first AMI clinical trial, how did the best patient's outcome compare?

Question 5 · Clinician

Which factor is emphasised as essential to the future of central auditory prostheses alongside better arrays and placement?

Module 1 · The Implant and the Deaf World: Why This Chapter Exists

Self-assessment — Module 15 questions
Question 1 · Foundation

Why does a clinical cochlear-implant atlas include a chapter on ethics and Deaf culture?

Question 2 · Foundation

The convention of writing 'Deaf' with a capital D refers to:

Question 3 · Trainee

The contemporary mainstream Deaf-scholarship position on implanting children is best described as:

Question 4 · Trainee

Why is 'device versus no device' a misleading way to frame the choice?

Question 5 · Clinician

Many culturally Deaf people prefer identity-first language ('a Deaf person') because:

Module 2 · Deaf Culture and Identity: A Linguistic Minority, Not a Disability Group

Self-assessment — Module 25 questions
Question 1 · Foundation

What most centrally defines membership in a Deaf community?

Question 2 · Foundation

The concept of 'Deaf gain' refers to:

Question 3 · Trainee

Why can the word 'loss' land as an insult to some Deaf people?

Question 4 · Trainee

Historically, why is there suspicion in the Deaf community toward technologies that center speech?

Question 5 · Clinician

Which is a common misunderstanding hearing clinicians make?

Module 3 · Two Models of Deafness: Why the Models Clash, Not the Device

Self-assessment — Module 35 questions
Question 1 · Foundation

The medical (pathological) model locates the problem of deafness primarily in:

Question 2 · Foundation

Under the social or cultural model, the more pressing question about a deaf child is:

Question 3 · Trainee

How does each model tend to define 'success' after implantation?

Question 4 · Trainee

Why is it said that the clash of models, not the device, drives much of the controversy?

Question 5 · Clinician

The WHO biopsychosocial (ICF) framework is useful because it:

Module 4 · From Alarm to Dialogue: A History of the Controversy

Self-assessment — Module 45 questions
Question 1 · Foundation

What event most directly triggered the early Deaf-community alarm over cochlear implants?

Question 2 · Foundation

The capital-D usage in 'Deaf' is generally meant to signal what?

Question 3 · Trainee

How did the NAD's 2000 statement differ from its 1991 statement?

Question 4 · Trainee

Which development most helped cool the controversy?

Question 5 · Clinician

In its mature form, the controversy now centers mainly on what?

Module 5 · Deciding for a Child: The Core Ethical Tension

Self-assessment — Module 55 questions
Question 1 · Foundation

Why is there no neutral 'wait and see' option in pediatric implantation?

Question 2 · Foundation

What is the central empirical claim behind the case for early implantation?

Question 3 · Trainee

Which fact most strengthens the consent/identity objection?

Question 4 · Trainee

Why is the 'just remove it later' reply to the irreversibility worry only partly reassuring?

Question 5 · Clinician

What is the most defensible practical stance when both arguments hold force?

Module 6 · Best Interests and Real Consent: Deciding Well for a Deaf Child

Self-assessment — Module 65 questions
Question 1 · Foundation

Under the best-interests standard as applied in pediatrics, what is considered?

Question 2 · Foundation

Why do most analysts place both implanting and declining within permissible parental choices?

Question 3 · Trainee

Which element is essential for consent to be genuinely informed in this setting?

Question 4 · Trainee

What does the literature repeatedly find about counseling practice?

Question 5 · Clinician

What best characterizes shared decision-making in this context?

Module 7 · The Child's Right to an Open Future

Self-assessment — Module 75 questions
Question 1 · Foundation

What did Feinberg mean by a child's 'rights-in-trust'?

Question 2 · Foundation

How did Dena Davis reframe the central tension for the deaf child?

Question 3 · Trainee

Why does the open-future argument fail to settle the implant debate on its own?

Question 4 · Trainee

What asymmetry favors the both-and (implant plus early sign) reading?

Question 5 · Clinician

How do implant advocates typically apply the open-future argument?

Module 8 · Language Deprivation: The Danger Both Sides Fear

Self-assessment — Module 85 questions
Question 1 · Foundation

What causes language deprivation in a deaf child?

Question 2 · Foundation

Roughly when is the sensitive period for first-language acquisition strongest?

Question 3 · Trainee

Which downstream effects are associated with early language deprivation?

Question 4 · Trainee

Why is an 'implant and hope, no sign' strategy considered risky?

Question 5 · Clinician

How does recognizing language deprivation reframe the implant debate?

Module 9 · Bilingual-Bimodal: Sign and Spoken Together

Self-assessment — Module 95 questions
Question 1 · Foundation

What does 'bimodal' refer to in the bilingual-bimodal model?

Question 2 · Foundation

What did studies of deaf children of deaf parents suggest about implant outcomes?

Question 3 · Trainee

What did the large multisite cohort study report?

Question 4 · Trainee

What is a key methodological criticism of the cautionary studies on sign exposure?

Question 5 · Clinician

What is the unifying commitment across the contested evidence?

Module 10 · Is Deafness a Problem to Be Fixed? The Disability-Rights Critique

Self-assessment — Module 105 questions
Question 1 · Foundation

The social model of disability locates the central difficulty of deafness primarily in:

Question 2 · Foundation

The expressivist objection claims that routinely eliminating a trait:

Question 3 · Trainee

A common counter-argument to the expressivist objection is that:

Question 4 · Trainee

Why does the disability-rights critique apply more weakly to a competent adult?

Question 5 · Clinician

The 'open future' argument is invoked by BOTH sides in the paediatric debate because:

Module 11 · Who Gets to Hear? Equity, Access and Justice

Self-assessment — Module 115 questions
Question 1 · Foundation

Globally, most of the world's deaf children:

Question 2 · Foundation

In the United States, paediatric implantation rates have historically been higher among:

Question 3 · Trainee

A major reason funding a device alone does not guarantee equity is that:

Question 4 · Trainee

Among qualifying adults in high-income countries, cochlear implant uptake is:

Question 5 · Clinician

A Deaf-aware view of equity holds that a just system should also:

Module 12 · Choosing Hearing, Choosing Deafness: Genetics and Reproductive Ethics

Self-assessment — Module 125 questions
Question 1 · Foundation

A common, testable genetic cause of congenital deafness involves variants in:

Question 2 · Foundation

Selection technologies (PGT, prenatal testing) are ethically distinctive because they:

Question 3 · Trainee

The famous case most associated with selecting FOR deafness involved:

Question 4 · Trainee

Surveys of hearing children of Deaf adults regarding selection technology generally found that most:

Question 5 · Clinician

The three values most directly in tension in this debate are:

Module 13 · Counselling Families with Cultural Humility

Self-assessment — Module 135 questions
Question 1 · Foundation

Roughly what proportion of deaf children are born to hearing parents?

Question 2 · Foundation

Cultural humility in this context is best described as:

Question 3 · Trainee

What developmental priority should counselling separate from the device decision?

Question 4 · Trainee

According to the scoping review, connecting hearing families with Deaf role models tends to:

Question 5 · Clinician

Parents in qualitative studies frequently report that the most distressing aspect of post-diagnostic counselling is:

Module 14 · The Adult and Late-Deafened Experience

Self-assessment — Module 145 questions
Question 1 · Foundation

Why is the central ethical tension of the paediatric implant debate largely absent for competent adults?

Question 2 · Foundation

Historically, implantation was first approved for:

Question 3 · Trainee

A key difference between the late-deafened adult and the culturally Deaf adult is that:

Question 4 · Trainee

Interview research on late-deafened adults after implantation found:

Question 5 · Clinician

Respecting autonomy in the adult setting requires the clinician to:

Module 15 · Toward Common Ground

Self-assessment — Module 155 questions
Question 1 · Foundation

How has the dominant framing of the debate evolved?

Question 2 · Foundation

Which point now attracts broad agreement across previously opposed camps?

Question 3 · Trainee

Evidence on bilingual-bimodal approaches (implant plus sign) indicates they:

Question 4 · Trainee

Which issue still genuinely divides the field?

Question 5 · Clinician

The clinician's respectful synthesis is best summarised as:

Module 1 · Hearing in the Real World: Beyond the Test Booth

Self-assessment — Module 15 questions
Question 1 · Foundation

Why does an excellent quiet-booth score over-predict daily-life success for CI users?

Question 2 · Foundation

Which feature of electric hearing most directly explains poor performance in noise?

Question 3 · Trainee

Why should sentence recognition be tested in noise as well as in quiet?

Question 4 · Trainee

Which sequence best describes this chapter's logic?

Question 5 · Clinician

A recipient scores 95% in quiet but 30% at a +5 dB SNR group setting. The best interpretation is:

Module 2 · The Problem of Noise: Why a Crowd Is the Enemy

Self-assessment — Module 25 questions
Question 1 · Foundation

What does a +5 dB SNR mean?

Question 2 · Foundation

Roughly how much more favourable an SNR do many CI users need versus normal-hearing listeners for the same understanding?

Question 3 · Trainee

Energetic masking refers to:

Question 4 · Trainee

Why is a single competing talker especially damaging for CI users?

Question 5 · Clinician

The most direct way to overcome the CI SNR penalty in a hard environment is to:

Module 3 · Reverberation, Distance and the Tyranny of the Room

Self-assessment — Module 35 questions
Question 1 · Foundation

Why is reverberation particularly harmful to cochlear implant users?

Question 2 · Foundation

By the inverse-square law, doubling the distance from a talker in a free field reduces the direct-sound level by about:

Question 3 · Trainee

Critical distance is the distance at which:

Question 4 · Trainee

Why can a recipient hear a partner across a small table yet lose a friend two seats away in a lively restaurant?

Question 5 · Clinician

Which is the most reliable way to defeat both distance and reverberation at once?

Module 4 · The First Link: Where the Microphone Lives

Self-assessment — Module 45 questions
Question 1 · Foundation

Why is the processor microphone described as the first link in the real-world chain?

Question 2 · Foundation

What is the acoustic advantage of placing a microphone at the entrance of the ear canal (the T-Mic concept)?

Question 3 · Trainee

How does behind-the-ear microphone placement change incoming sound compared with a healthy ear?

Question 4 · Trainee

What capability does a second microphone primarily unlock?

Question 5 · Clinician

A recipient reports slowly worsening sound quality with an otherwise stable MAP. What should be suspected first?

Module 5 · Pointing the Ear: Directionality and Beamforming

Self-assessment — Module 55 questions
Question 1 · Foundation

How does a directional microphone improve the signal-to-noise ratio?

Question 2 · Foundation

What distinguishes an adaptive beamformer from a fixed directional pattern?

Question 3 · Trainee

In which situation does directionality provide the greatest benefit?

Question 4 · Trainee

Why can sound-booth tests overestimate real-world directional benefit?

Question 5 · Clinician

What is the main limitation of a strongly directional, always-on setting?

Module 6 · Cleaning the Signal: Noise Reduction and Scene Analysis

Self-assessment — Module 65 questions
Question 1 · Foundation

In what situation is single-channel noise reduction more useful than directionality?

Question 2 · Foundation

How does SNR-based (Wiener-type) gain work within a frequency band?

Question 3 · Trainee

What is the most reliable benefit of single-channel noise reduction?

Question 4 · Trainee

How is wind noise typically detected and managed?

Question 5 · Clinician

What does scene classification add to the processor?

Module 7 · Set and Forget: How the Processor Reads the Room

Self-assessment — Module 75 questions
Question 1 · Foundation

What is the main purpose of an automatic scene classifier in a sound processor?

Question 2 · Foundation

Which acoustic feature most directly helps the classifier distinguish speech from steady noise?

Question 3 · Trainee

Why does directional processing provide little benefit when speech and noise come from the same direction?

Question 4 · Trainee

What does automatic sensitivity (autosensitivity-type) control typically do in a noisy room?

Question 5 · Clinician

Which situation still commonly justifies a dedicated manual program rather than relying on automation?

Module 8 · Bring the Mic to the Talker: Remote and FM/DM Systems

Self-assessment — Module 85 questions
Question 1 · Foundation

Why is a remote microphone the most effective tool for hearing in noise and at distance?

Question 2 · Foundation

What advantage do digital-modulation systems (e.g. Roger) have over older analogue FM?

Question 3 · Trainee

Which connection method couples a remote-mic receiver to the processor via the telecoil?

Question 4 · Trainee

Roughly how large can the SNR or SRT benefit of remote microphone systems be in challenging noise?

Question 5 · Clinician

What is the most common fitting error that undermines remote-microphone benefit?

Module 9 · The Invisible Cable: Telecoils and Hearing Loops

Self-assessment — Module 95 questions
Question 1 · Foundation

How does a telecoil produce sound from a hearing loop?

Question 2 · Foundation

What is the main acoustic advantage of listening through a hearing loop in a large reverberant venue?

Question 3 · Trainee

What does an automatic telecoil (autocoil) feature do?

Question 4 · Trainee

Why can the same loop sound stronger or weaker depending on head position?

Question 5 · Clinician

How does telecoil/loop technology best relate to newer personal wireless streaming?

Module 10 · Cutting Out the Room: Bluetooth and Direct Audio Streaming

Self-assessment — Module 105 questions
Question 1 · Foundation

The main reason direct streaming improves listening over the processor microphone is that it:

Question 2 · Foundation

MFi and ASHA are best described as:

Question 3 · Trainee

Auracast (part of Bluetooth LE Audio) is significant for hearing access because it enables:

Question 4 · Trainee

The LC3 codec used by LE Audio chiefly provides:

Question 5 · Clinician

The streaming-to-microphone mixing ratio matters because:

Module 11 · The Ecosystem Around the Ear: Accessories, Apps and Telecare

Self-assessment — Module 115 questions
Question 1 · Foundation

Thinking of the processor as a hub is useful because:

Question 2 · Foundation

Datalogging in a modern processor records:

Question 3 · Trainee

Remote-care and remote-check workflows have been shown to:

Question 4 · Trainee

For a bilateral user, an accessory should ideally:

Question 5 · Clinician

A common cause of accessory problems found at follow-up is:

Module 12 · Beyond the Device: Assistive Listening and Real-World Accessibility

Self-assessment — Module 125 questions
Question 1 · Foundation

The three stacked layers that together produce real-world access are:

Question 2 · Foundation

Alerting systems for deaf/hard-of-hearing users typically work by:

Question 3 · Trainee

CART (Communication Access Real-time Translation) is best described as:

Question 4 · Trainee

Under ADA-type legislation, assembly areas with a public-address system must:

Question 5 · Clinician

Auracast broadcast audio is relevant to venue accessibility because it:

Module 13 · Beyond the Booth: Measuring Real-World Benefit

Self-assessment — Module 135 questions
Question 1 · Foundation

Why is a quiet-booth percent-correct score often inadequate for modern implant users?

Question 2 · Foundation

What does an adaptive speech-in-noise procedure converge on?

Question 3 · Trainee

Which test is specifically recommended for cochlear implant candidates and children when QuickSIN is too difficult?

Question 4 · Trainee

What unique information does processor datalogging add to outcome assessment?

Question 5 · Clinician

Which instrument was developed specifically to measure quality of life in cochlear implant users?

Module 14 · The Coached Listener: Counselling for Daily Listening

Self-assessment — Module 145 questions
Question 1 · Foundation

Why is setting realistic expectations considered a clinical intervention?

Question 2 · Foundation

Which is an effective communication-repair strategy?

Question 3 · Trainee

Which environmental change most directly improves lip-reading support in noise?

Question 4 · Trainee

A remote microphone helps most because it primarily improves what?

Question 5 · Clinician

How do counselling and auditory training relate?

Module 15 · The Listening Machine: The Future of Real-World Hearing

Self-assessment — Module 155 questions
Question 1 · Foundation

Where has the main frontier of real-world hearing progress shifted in recent years?

Question 2 · Foundation

Why is deep-learning denoising especially valuable for implant users?

Question 3 · Trainee

What does Auracast (Bluetooth LE Audio broadcast) enable for implant users?

Question 4 · Trainee

What problem does own-voice processing address?

Question 5 · Clinician

What is the realistic status of EEG attention-decoded, brain-steered hearing?

Module 2 · Impedance & electrode interface

Self-assessment — Module 23 questions
Question 1 · Trainee

Which stimulation mode normally gives the lowest impedance values and is the clinical default?

Question 2 · Trainee

An abnormally LOW impedance on a contact most suggests:

Question 3 · Clinician

Which objective measure can flag an electrode-array tip fold-over without imaging?

Module 3 · ECAP / Neural Response Telemetry

Self-assessment — Module 33 questions
Question 1 · Foundation

The N1 peak of the ECAP is generated by:

Question 2 · Clinician

Forward-masking subtraction removes the stimulus artifact by exploiting:

Question 3 · Clinician

Compared with the acoustic CAP, the ECAP is larger and earlier mainly because:

Module 4 · ECAP threshold & functions

Self-assessment — Module 43 questions
Question 1 · Trainee

The ECAP threshold is most correctly obtained by:

Question 2 · Clinician

A steep amplitude growth function slope is generally interpreted as indicating:

Question 3 · Clinician

A broad spread-of-excitation function indicates:

Module 5 · Electrical stapedius reflex

Self-assessment — Module 53 questions
Question 1 · Foundation

The electrical stapedius reflex is most useful for anchoring which part of the MAP?

Question 2 · Trainee

Post-operatively, the electrical stapedius reflex is typically recorded with immittance equipment in the:

Question 3 · Clinician

Why are intra-operative ESRTs generally higher and more variable than awake post-operative values?

Module 6 · Electrically-evoked ABR

Self-assessment — Module 63 questions
Question 1 · Foundation

Compared with the ECAP, the eABR primarily adds information about:

Question 2 · Trainee

The most robust and clinically used peak of the eABR is:

Question 3 · Clinician

In which scenario is the eABR most valuable?

Module 7 · Electrical cortical responses

Self-assessment — Module 73 questions
Question 1 · Foundation

The P1 cortical response in implanted children is used as a biomarker of:

Question 2 · Trainee

Compared with the eABR, recording cortical responses (CAEPs) usually requires the patient to be:

Question 3 · Clinician

The P1 evidence base contributed to which change in clinical practice?

Module 8 · Intraoperative ECochG

Self-assessment — Module 83 questions
Question 1 · Foundation

Intraoperative ECochG during CI surgery primarily aims to:

Question 2 · Trainee

The workhorse signal monitored during insertion is the:

Question 3 · Clinician

An abrupt ~30–40% drop in CM amplitude during insertion should prompt:

Module 9 · Objective measures → the MAP

Self-assessment — Module 93 questions
Question 1 · Trainee

Which objective measure best anchors the comfortable-level (C/M) ceiling of a MAP?

Question 2 · Clinician

Why is the ECAP threshold better used as a profile than as an absolute value?

Question 3 · Clinician

A MAP built purely on objective measures should be regarded as:

Module 10 · Troubleshooting & special cases

Self-assessment — Module 103 questions
Question 1 · Clinician

In suspected device soft failure, the most informative objective evidence is usually:

Question 2 · Trainee

Loud-sound-triggered facial twitching after activation most likely represents:

Question 3 · Clinician

In cochlear nerve deficiency, a present, replicable eABR supports:

Module 11 · Manufacturer systems compared

Self-assessment — Module 114 questions
Question 1 · Foundation

NRT, ART, and NRI are three manufacturers' names for systems that record:

Question 2 · Trainee

Which is true about level values across manufacturers?

Question 3 · Clinician

Cochlear's AutoNRT obtains ECAP thresholds primarily using:

Question 4 · Trainee

Which statement about the cochlear-implant manufacturer landscape is correct?

Module 13 · Future directions, AI & emerging tech

Self-assessment — Module 134 questions
Question 1 · Foundation

AutoNRT, which finds ECAP thresholds automatically, is an early clinical example of:

Question 2 · Trainee

Panoramic ECAP (PECAP) is being developed primarily to:

Question 3 · Trainee

A multicentre trial supported which of these as non-inferior to in-person care?

Question 4 · Clinician

Why will an optogenetic cochlear implant need a new objective-measures toolbox?