@article{KuehnSchoenEdelmannetal.2013,
  author    = {K{\"u}hn, Heike and Sch{\"o}n, Franz and Edelmann, Karola and Brill, Stefan and M{\"u}ller, Joachim},
  title     = {The Development of Lateralization Abilities in Children with Bilateral Cochlear Implants},
  series = {ORL},
  volume    = {75},
  journal   = {ORL},
  number    = {2},
  issn      = {0301-1569},
  doi       = {10.1159/000347193},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-196375},
  pages     = {55-67},
  year      = {2013},
  abstract  = {Objectives: The purpose of this study was to investigate the development of lateralization skills in children who received bilateral cochlear implants (CIs) in sequential operations. Methods: The lateralization skills of 9 children with a mean age of 4.1 years at the first surgery and 5.5 years at the second surgery were assessed at 3 time intervals. Children were assessed with a 3-loudspeaker setup (front, left and right) at 0.9 years (interval I) and 1.6 years (interval II) after the second implantation, and after 5.3 years of bilateral implant use (interval III) with a 9-loudspeaker setup in the frontal horizontal plane between -90° and 90° azimuth. Results: With bilateral implants, a significant decrease in lateralization error was noted between test interval I (45.0°) and II (23.3°), with a subsequent significant decrease at test interval III (4.7°). Unilateral performance with the CI did not improve significantly between the first 2 intervals; however, there was a bias of responses towards the unilateral side by test interval III. Conclusions: The lateralization abilities of children with bilateral CIs develop in a relatively short period of time (1-2 years) after the second implant. Children appear to be able to acquire binaural skills after bilateral cochlear implantation.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{MatthiesBrillKagaetal.2013,
  author    = {Matthies, Cordula and Brill, Stefan and Kaga, Kimitaka and Morita, Akio and Kumakawa, Kozo and Skarzynski, Henryk and Claassen, Andre and Hui, Yau and Chiong, Charlotte and M{\"u}ller, Joachim and Behr, Robert},
  title     = {Auditory Brainstem Implantation Improves Speech Recognition in Neurofibromatosis Type II Patients},
  series = {ORL},
  volume    = {75},
  journal   = {ORL},
  number    = {5},
  issn      = {0301-1569},
  doi       = {10.1159/000350568},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-196383},
  pages     = {282-295},
  year      = {2013},
  abstract  = {This prospective study aimed to determine speech understanding in neurofibromatosis type II (NF2) patients following implantation of a MED-EL COMBI 40+ auditory brainstem implant (ABI). Patients (n = 32) were enrolled postsurgically. Nonauditory side effects were evaluated at fitting and audiological performance was determined using the Sound Effects Recognition Test (SERT), Monosyllable-Trochee-Polysyllable (MTP) test and open-set sentence tests. Subjective benefits were determined by questionnaire. ABI activation was documented in 27 patients, 2 patients were too ill for testing and 3 patients were without any auditory perception. SERT and MTP outcomes under auditory-only conditions improved significantly between first fitting and 12-month follow-up. Open-set sentence recognition improved from 5\% at first fitting to 37\% after 12 months. The number of active electrodes had no significant effect on performance. All questionnaire respondents were 'satisfied' to 'very satisfied' with their ABI. An ABI is an effective treatment option in NF2 patients with the potential to provide open-set speech recognition and subjective benefits. To our knowledge, the data presented herein is exceptional in terms of the open-set speech perception achieved in NF2 patients.},
  language  = {en}
}