title: Contralateral recovery of cochlear function after cochlear implantation.
abstract: Significant recovery of sensorineural hearing loss in either ear after cochlear implantation (CI) is rare. We present the case of a 57-year-old lady with medically treated depression and a background of chronic suppurative otitis media (CSOM) in the non-implanted ear, who clearly fulfilled audiological criteria for CI. Two years post-implantation her CSOM in the non-implanted ear was addressed with blind sac closure of the ear. Post-operatively the hearing thresholds in this ear had improved to the extent that a bone-anchored hearing aid became a viable option. The literature is carefully reviewed to consider possible explanations of this phenomenon.
authors.affiliation: Cambridge Hearing Implant Program, The Emmeline Centre, Addenbrookes Hospital, Cambridge University Hospitals, Cambridge, UK.
authors.forename: Jonathan H K
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Kong
authors.forename: Sanjiv
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kumar
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Chung
authors.forename: Patrick R
authors.initials: PR
authors.lastname: Axon
authors.forename: Roger F
authors.initials: RF
authors.lastname: Gray
authors.forename: Neil
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Donnelly
mesh_terms: D003051:Cochlea / Q000502:physiology*; D019929:Cochlear Implantation; D005260:Female; D006309:Hearing / Q000502:physiology*; D006310:Hearing Aids; D006319:Hearing Loss, Sensorineural / Q000209:etiology / Q000601:surgery / Q000628:therapy; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D010035:Otitis Media, Suppurative / Q000150:complications*; D020127:Recovery of Function / Q000502:physiology*; D012075:Remission, Spontaneous