# Therapeutic hypothermia to preserve residual hearing in veterans receiving cochlear implantation

> **NIH VA I01** · MIAMI VA HEALTH CARE SYSTEM · 2022 · —

## Abstract

The primary goal of this proposal is to test and develop a novel application of therapeutic hypothermia for
veterans receiving cochlear implantation (CI) with an aim to preserve residual hearing and sensitive neural
structures against surgical trauma and improve hearing outcomes post-implantation. Increasing residual hearing
in veterans post-CI will likely improve their speech recognition outcomes, improve speech perception in quiet,
and overall, patient benefit and usage of these devices. An increasing number of patients, that include our
veterans, have some level of residual hearing at the time of implantation and can benefit from bimodal electro-
acoustic devices. Surviving hair cell activity and as a result a functioning organ of Corti and neural substrate has
recently been linked to speech perception outcomes. However, trauma during implantation leads to inflammation
and oxidative stress that can exacerbate residual hearing loss. Successful translation of therapeutic interventions
to limit pathophysiology of the injury have yet to be achieved. The present work aims to develop application(s)
of localized, therapeutic hypothermia for protection of hair cells and neural substrate following CI in compromised
cochleae as a result of noise and blast exposures in veterans. The specific aims are motivated by a gap in
knowledge currently of the pathophysiology of CI in compromised cochleae, its relation to poor outcomes in
veterans, and our preliminary data showing that localized, mild hypothermia delivered to the cochlea is effective
and safe therapeutic intervention for preserving residual hearing after implantation. The results from this project
can be further extended to other inner and middle ear surgeries in veterans, surgeries that also carry a risk of
residual hearing loss.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10314602
- **Project number:** 1I01RX003532-01A2
- **Recipient organization:** MIAMI VA HEALTH CARE SYSTEM
- **Principal Investigator:** Suhrud M. Rajguru
- **Activity code:** I01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** VA
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** —
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2022-03-01 → 2026-02-28

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10314602

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10314602, Therapeutic hypothermia to preserve residual hearing in veterans receiving cochlear implantation (1I01RX003532-01A2). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10314602. Licensed CC0.

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