Charge-balanced asymmetric waveforms reduce the current needed to elicit hearing in cochlear implant users.

Evidence

Finally, most animal studies on polarity sensitivity have been performed using monophasic pulses which cannot safely be used in humans. This is why studies in CI subjects use charge-balanced asymmetric waveforms which are hypothesized to make one polarity dominate over the other. Some of these waveforms have the advantage of requiring lower current levels than the commonly-used symmetric waveform to elicit auditory sensations in implant listeners (Macherey et al. 2006 ). — Dijk, Pim van, Physiology, Psychoacoustics and…, 2278

Categorization

• DEFINE: Clarifies why charge-balanced asymmetric waveforms exist (safety + polarity dominance) and their efficiency advantage over symmetric pulses.
• XREF: Links to the broader question of how stimulus waveform design interacts with physiological safety limits in human implantation.