title: Effects of Age and Implanted Ear on Speech Recognition in Adults with Unilateral Cochlear Implants.
abstract: The objective of this study was to examine how age and implanted ear contribute to functional outcomes with cochlear implantation (CI). A retrospective review was performed on 96 adults who underwent unilateral CI. Older adults with right-ear implants had higher Hearing in Noise Test (HINT) scores at 1 year by 10.3% (p = 0.06). When adjusted to rationalized arcsine units (rau), right-ear HINT scores in older adults were higher by 12.1 rau (p = 0.04). Older adults had an 8.9% advantage on the right side compared to the left in post- versus preimplant scores for consonant-vowel nucleus-consonant words (p = 0.05). No significant differences were observed for younger adults. In conclusion, although adults of all ages experience improvements in speech perception following CI, there might be a subtle but consistent right-ear advantage in older adults.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, S.C., USA.
authors.forename: Robert Allan
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Sharpe
authors.forename: Elizabeth L
authors.initials: EL
authors.lastname: Camposeo
authors.forename: Wasef K
authors.initials: WK
authors.lastname: Muzaffar
authors.forename: Meredith A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Holcomb
authors.forename: Judy R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Dubno
authors.forename: Ted A
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Meyer
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D019929:Cochlear Implantation / Q000379:methods*; D003054:Cochlear Implants; D003638:Deafness / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D005260:Female; D006320:Hearing Tests; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009622:Noise; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013060:Speech; D013067:Speech Perception; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D055815:Young Adult