Channel crosstalk detected using ECAP measurements is associated with poorer speech perception in cochlear implant users.

The number and independence of channels in cochlear implants (CI) has long been considered to influence speech recognition, particularly in competing background noise. Measures of channel independence have been obtained via psychophysical and objective means, relying on interactions between probe and masker signals delivered on different channels. In the current study, electrically evoked compound action potentials (ECAP) obtained from 32 Nucleus CI recipients tested at one basal and one apical position were performed using a standard spread-of-excitation procedure.