title: Cochlear Implants in Elderly People: Preliminary Results.
abstract: The objective of this study was to evaluate the benefit of cochlear implantation in adults aged 60 years and over. Twenty-eight patients, older than 60 years and with profound bilateral sensorineural hearing loss, received a cochlear implant between 1991 and 2001. The mean age was 66 years and the median follow-up was 22.5 months. Speech perception scores before and after implantation were analyzed retrospectively in order to evaluate the benefit of cochlear implantation. There was a significant improvement of the disyllabic words and sentences scores after implantation. The patients who were over 70 years performed as well as those who were younger. The surgical procedure was well tolerated in all patients. One patient developed a postoperative vertigo due to a perilymphatic fistula. In conclusion, cochlear implantation offers improvement in speech perception to the elderly population, as in the younger population. A careful assessment of the physical status of these patients remains essential in order to evaluate the risk-benefit of this procedure.
authors.affiliation: a From the Service d'ORL, Hôpital Beaujon, AP-HP, Clichy, France.|b Consultation ORL, Hôpital Louis Mourier, AP-HP, Colombes, France.|c INSERM EMI 0112, Faculté Xavier Bichat, Université Paris 7, Paris, France.
authors.forename: Olivier
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Sterkers
authors.affiliation: a From the Service d'ORL, Hôpital Beaujon, AP-HP, Clichy, France.|b Consultation ORL, Hôpital Louis Mourier, AP-HP, Colombes, France.|c INSERM EMI 0112, Faculté Xavier Bichat, Université Paris 7, Paris, France.
authors.forename: Isabelle
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Mosnier
authors.affiliation: a From the Service d'ORL, Hôpital Beaujon, AP-HP, Clichy, France.
authors.forename: Emmanuelle
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ambert-Dahan
authors.affiliation: a From the Service d'ORL, Hôpital Beaujon, AP-HP, Clichy, France.
authors.forename: Evelyne
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Herelle-Dupuy
authors.affiliation: a From the Service d'ORL, Hôpital Beaujon, AP-HP, Clichy, France.|c INSERM EMI 0112, Faculté Xavier Bichat, Université Paris 7, Paris, France.
authors.forename: Alexis
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bozorg-Grayeli
authors.affiliation: a From the Service d'ORL, Hôpital Beaujon, AP-HP, Clichy, France.|c INSERM EMI 0112, Faculté Xavier Bichat, Université Paris 7, Paris, France.
authors.forename: Didier
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Bouccara
keywords: cochlear implant; elderly people