In accordance with one embodiment of the invention, a method of activating electrodes in a multichannel electrode array is provided. Each channel is associated with a different electrode in the array. At least two groups of channels in the multichannel electrode array are selected, wherein at least one of the selected groups includes a plurality of channels. One or more channels in each selected group is selected, and the electrodes associated with each selected channel are activated. The steps of selecting at least one channel in each selected group, and activating the electrodes associated with each selected channel are repeated, such that the selected channels in at least one selected group varies.