title: Speech perception in elderly patients following cochlear implantation.
abstract: CONCLUSIONS
  Elderly patients benefit from cochlear implantation in terms of speech perception and quality of life. Age alone should be no contraindication for implantation.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  There have been concerns whether elderly patients may perform poorly after cochlear implantation due to degenerative processes in the central and peripheral auditory systems. The purpose of this study was to analyze the benefits of cochlear implantation in elderly patients in comparison to younger recipients.
  
  
  METHODS
  We examined 26 postlingually deafened adults aged > 65 years who received a cochlear implant at our center regarding preoperative findings, comorbidities, postoperative complications and quality of life. Speech perception was assessed by means of multi- and monosyllabic word recognition and compared to the results obtained by younger patients.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The surgical procedure was well tolerated by all patients without notable perioperative complications. In terms of speech perception, no significant differences between the elderly patients and younger recipients were noted. All patients found that cochlear implantation had a positive impact on their quality of life.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, University Hospital of RWTH Aachen, Aachen, Germany. jhaensel@ukaachen.de
authors.forename: Jan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Haensel
authors.forename: Justus
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ilgner
authors.forename: Yue-Shih
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Thuermer
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Westhofen
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D019929:Cochlear Implantation / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000379:methods*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D015577:Geriatric Assessment; D006319:Hearing Loss, Sensorineural / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D011336:Probability; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D018570:Risk Assessment; D013067:Speech Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D016896:Treatment Outcome