1. A cochlear stimulation system comprising: a processor configured to generate one or more control signals based on a customized stimulation pattern in a cochlear implant implanted in an individual; and circuitry coupled to the processor, the circuitry configured to apply one or more stimulation currents to one or more selected electrodes of an electrode array associated with the cochlear implant based on the generated one or more control signals; wherein the customized stimulation pattern is determined based on a test that identifies independence of the one or more selected electrodes, and wherein the processor and the circuitry are further configured to conduct the test by performing operations that comprises: determining an excitation pattern for at least a first electrode and a second electrode selected from the array of electrodes by applying a masking stimulus and a probing stimulus separated by a time delay to each electrode, and determining an ability of the individual to distinguish the masking and probing stimuli; and comparing the excitation pattern for the first electrode against the excitation pattern for the second electrode.