Oscilloscopes Aid in Cochlear Implant Studies

Dr. Lina Reiss is a biomedical engineer at Oregon Health & Science University—and she’s also a cochlear implant user. In this short video, Dr. Reiss shares her unique dual perspective as both a researcher and a recipient of this life-changing technology.

Cochlear implants are advanced medical devices that help individuals with severe hearing loss perceive sound by directly stimulating the auditory nerve with electrical signals. Unlike typical hearing, the sound produced by an implant is different and requires time and training for the brain to interpret effectively.

Dr. Reiss studies how cochlear implant users adapt to these signals—especially those who also use a hearing aid in the opposite ear. Over time, the brain can learn to “fuse” these very different audio inputs into a cohesive sense of speech and sound. Her research focuses on understanding and optimizing this process.

In the lab, Dr. Reiss uses oscilloscopes to fine-tune implant settings and visualize how sound signals are processed by the device. In this video, she demonstrates her setup and explains how these tools help her improve outcomes for cochlear implant users—herself included.

Want to learn more about the instruments featured in this video? Visit our Oscilloscopes page to explore the latest from Tektronix.