title: Evidence for the expansion of pediatric cochlear implant candidacy.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To test the hypothesis that children who are non-traditional cochlear implant candidates, but are not making progress with appropriately fitted hearing aids and intervention, will demonstrate significant benefit from cochlear implantation as defined by improvement in (1) speech perception, (2) auditory skills development, and/or (3) progress on standardized measures of receptive and expressive language.
  
  
  METHODS
  Retrospective case series.
  
  
  METHODS
  Two tertiary academic cochlear implant centers.
  
  
  METHODS
  All pediatric patients that underwent cochlear implantation were reviewed. Only those meeting one or both of the following criteria were included: (1) less severe hearing loss than specified in the current indications and (2) open-set word and/or sentence recognition scores greater than 30% for children who are able to participate in speech perception testing. Patients with auditory neuropathy were excluded.
  
  
  METHODS
  Cochlear implantation.
  
  
  METHODS
  Pre- and postoperative results of age appropriate speech recognition tests, auditory questionnaires, and standardized norm-referenced estimates of speech and language development.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 51 patients met study criteria. The mean age at time of surgery was 8.3 years and 24% underwent bilateral sequential implantation. Overall, the mean speech recognition improvement was 63 percentage points in the implanted ear (p < 0.001) and 40 percentage points in the bimodal condition (p < 0.001). Results of auditory and language development measures revealed significant improvement after implantation (p < 0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Non-traditional pediatric implant recipients derive significant benefit from cochlear implantation. A large-scale reassessment of pediatric cochlear implant candidacy, including less severe hearing losses and higher preoperative speech recognition, is warranted to allow more children access to the benefits of cochlear implantation.
authors.affiliation: *Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Mayo Clinic School of Medicine, Rochester, Minnesota, U.S.A.; and †Departments of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery and ‡Hearing and Speech Sciences, Vanderbilt Bill Wilkerson Center, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, U.S.A.
authors.forename: Matthew L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Carlson
authors.forename: Douglas P
authors.initials: DP
authors.lastname: Sladen
authors.forename: David S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Haynes
authors.forename: Colin L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Driscoll
authors.forename: Melissa D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: DeJong
authors.forename: Hannah C
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Erickson
authors.forename: Linsey W
authors.initials: LW
authors.lastname: Sunderhaus
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hedley-Williams
authors.forename: Elizabeth A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Rosenzweig
authors.forename: Timothy J
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Davis
authors.forename: René H
authors.initials: RH
authors.lastname: Gifford
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D019929:Cochlear Implantation / Q000379:methods; D003054:Cochlear Implants; D005260:Female; D006319:Hearing Loss, Sensorineural / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007804:Language Development; D008297:Male; D018579:Patient Selection; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013067:Speech Perception