title: Communication benefits of bilateral cochlear implantation. Retrospective study in 12-year-old children.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Some studies suggest that simultaneous or sequential cochlear implantation in a short period of time offers additional benefits. There is controversy regarding the existence of an age limit after which a second implantation offers less benefit for the acquisition of communication skills. The objectives of this study were to confirm that sequential cochlear implantation offers benefits compared to unilateral implantation and to study whether, at 12 years of age, there are significant differences regarding the age at the time of the second implantation.
  
  
  METHODS
  Descriptive and observational study of a population of 12-year-old children carrying cochlear implants (n=69). A liminal pure tone audiometry and an open-field verbal discrimination test (disyllables, common phrases in an open context, with and without noise) were conducted to evaluate audiological benefits.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Verbal discrimination results were better among patients who had been implanted before the age of 2 years, although the differences were not statistically significant (P>.5). Children who had received bilateral cochlear implants before the age of 2 years and with a period less than 4 years between both implants presented better verbal discrimination percentages (P<.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In our sample, early cochlear implantation with a short period between both implants provided significant benefits regarding intelligibility. There seem to be a specific age and interimplant period, after which the auditory benefit on the first implant becomes reduced.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Otorrinolaringología, Unidad de Hipoacusia, Complejo Hospitalario Insular Materno Infantil, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, España.
authors.forename: Gloria
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Guerra-Jiménez
authors.forename: Jaime
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Viera Artiles
authors.forename: Mar
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mateos
authors.forename: Rocío
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: González Aguado
authors.forename: Juan Carlos
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Falcón González
authors.forename: Silvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Borkoski Barreiro
authors.forename: Angel
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ramos Macías
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D019929:Cochlear Implantation / Q000379:methods*; D003142:Communication; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007804:Language Development; D008297:Male; D012189:Retrospective Studies
keywords: Children; Desarrollo del leguaje; Implantación coclear secuencial; Language development; Niños; Sequential cochlear implantation