Invited Talk at CIAP 2025: Unraveling Auditory Nerve Condition

It was an honor to present at CIAP 2025: Conference on Implantable Auditory Prostheses held at Granlibakken, Lake Tahoe (July 13–18, 2025).

My talk, “Unraveling Auditory Nerve Condition: Key to Cochlear Implant Efficacy,” offered a review of one of the most critical challenges in our field: assessing neural health in cochlear implant users.

Talk Summary

The role of auditory nerve condition in cochlear implant outcomes has been the subject of ongoing debate. Successful transmission of auditory information requires the presence of functioning auditory nerve fibers that respond to electrical stimulation. However, CI candidates exhibit varying degrees and patterns of degeneration—from myelin sheath thinning to loss of peripheral axons to reduction in overall neuron density.

The talk covered:

• Physiological basis behind neural degeneration-related response characteristics
• Validation approaches in human CI users through correlation and comparison studies
• Clinical translation — how this knowledge can be used to improve CI outcomes
• State-of-the-art methods for estimating neural degeneration
• Key lessons learned in establishing reliable measures
• Future directions for the field

Session Details

Session 5: Neural Health
Session Chairs: Kara Leyzac & Shuman He

• Time: Wednesday, July 16, 2025 | 8:30–9:10 AM
• Location: Granlibakken, Lake Tahoe, California

Thank you to the organizers and the audience for the engaging discussion!

This work was conducted in collaboration with Dr. Xin Luo at Arizona State University.