Long-term performance of Clarion 1.0 cochlear implant users.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the long-term performance of adult Clarion 1.0 cochlear implant users.


METHODS
This was a retrospective, longitudinal study evaluating word discrimination in quiet for 31 adult cochlear implant patients with preimplantation sentence scores of less than 10%.


METHODS
The length of the study was 135 months with a mean follow-up length of 93 (median, 96) months. For the duration of the study, all subjects used the Clarion 1.0 cochlear implant with speech processors programmed for the use of the continuous interleaved sampling strategy.


RESULTS
There was no significant growth or decline in speech perception after 24 months postimplantation unless adverse medical events were experienced. Age at implantation was significantly and substantially negatively correlated (-11% word score per decade, r = 0.68) with most recent score, maximum score, time to maximum score, range of performance, 24- to 130-month mean score, and for any longitudinal data point tested: 3 to 6 months, 6 months, 1 year, 2 years, 5 years, and 10 years. There were no age-related declines in performance. There were no observed correlations between duration of deafness and any of the variables listed above.


CONCLUSIONS
The lack of correlation between duration of deafness and performance in a cohort without residual hearing suggests the presence of a strong correlation between age and speech performance with a cochlear implant. That the cochlear implant is a safe therapy for the treatment of profound deafness is supported by the stability of scores through the 10-year study period as well as a zero rate of device failures or explantation.
Ruffin
Chad V
CV
Virginia Merrill Bloedel Hearing Research Center, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, USA. cruffin@u.washington.edu
Tyler
Richard S
RS
Witt
Shelley A
SA
Dunn
Camille C
CC
Gantz
Bruce J
BJ
Rubinstein
Jay T
JT
D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D019929:Cochlear Implantation; D003054:Cochlear Implants; D005260:Female; D006312:Hearing Loss, Bilateral / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000601:surgery*; D006319:Hearing Loss, Sensorineural / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011184:Postoperative Period; D011474:Prosthesis Design; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013067:Speech Perception; D016896:Treatment Outcome