Cochlear implantation in early deafened, late implanted adults: Do they benefit?
OBJECTIVE
The aim of this study was to quantify the benefit gained from cochlear implantation in pre- or peri-lingually deafened patients who were implanted as adults Methods: This was a retrospective case-control study. Auditory (BKB/CUNY/3AFC/Environmental sounds), quality of life (GBI/HUI3) and cognitive (customized questionnaire) outcomes in 26 late implanted pre- or peri-lingually deafened adults were compared to those of 30 matched post-lingually deafened, traditional cochlear implant users.


RESULTS
There was a statistically significant improvement in all scores in the study group following cochlear implantation. BKB scores for cases was 49.8% compared to 83.6% for controls (p=0.037). CUNY scores for cases was 61.7% compared to 90.3% for controls (p=0.022). The 3AFC and environmental sounds scores were also better in controls compared to cases but the difference was not statistically significant. Quality of life scores improved following implantation in cases and controls but the improvement was only statistically significant in the controls. There was a 7.7% non-user rate in the cases. There were no non-users in the control group.


CONCLUSIONS
Early deafened,,late implanted patients can benefit audiologically from cochlear implantation and in this study the improvement in speech discrimination scores was greater than expected perhaps reflecting careful selection of patients. Nevertheless, audiological benefits are limited compared to traditional cochlear implant recipients with the implant acting as an aid to lip reading in most cases.


CONCLUSIONS
With careful selection of candidates, cochlear implantation is beneficial in early deafened, late implanted patients.
a The Richard Ramsden Centre for Auditory Implants , Central Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre , Manchester M13 9WL , UK.
Raghunandhan Sampath
RS
Kumar
a The Richard Ramsden Centre for Auditory Implants , Central Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre , Manchester M13 9WL , UK.
Deborah
D
Mawman
a The Richard Ramsden Centre for Auditory Implants , Central Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre , Manchester M13 9WL , UK.
Divyan
D
Sankaran
a The Richard Ramsden Centre for Auditory Implants , Central Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre , Manchester M13 9WL , UK.
Christine
C
Melling
a The Richard Ramsden Centre for Auditory Implants , Central Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre , Manchester M13 9WL , UK.
Martin
M
O'Driscoll
a The Richard Ramsden Centre for Auditory Implants , Central Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre , Manchester M13 9WL , UK.
Simon M
SM
Freeman
a The Richard Ramsden Centre for Auditory Implants , Central Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre , Manchester M13 9WL , UK.|b Institute of Cancer Sciences , University of Manchester , M13 9PL , UK.
Simon K W
SK
Lloyd
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D019929:Cochlear Implantation / Q000379:methods* / Q000523:psychology; D003054:Cochlear Implants / Q000523:psychology; D003638:Deafness / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology / Q000601:surgery*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011788:Quality of Life; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013063:Speech Discrimination Tests / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D013067:Speech Perception; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D061665:Time-to-Treatment; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D055815:Young Adult
Cochlear implant; Cochlear implant outcomes; Congenital deafness; Pre-lingual deafness; Quality of life