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Purpose: This study was aimed at examining the pre- and post-cochlear implant (CI) speech recognition and quality of life results of postlingually deaf adult CI users with a duration of deafness (DoD) > 25 years and determining the maximum DoD limit. Methods: We enrolled 54 postlingually deaf CI users and divided them into ages ≤ 60 and > 60 years and DoDs ≤ 25 and > 25 years. All participants were evaluated using multisensory measures (auditory and auditory + visual) and open-set Speech Recognition Test (SRT) before CI and 3 years postoperatively. They were administered with The Hearing Handicap Inventory for the Elderly (HHIE) to determine the effects of hearing impairment on daily life. Results: DoD and open-set SRT for auditory and auditory + visual stimuli showed a strong negative linear relationship (r = − 0.506, p < 0.01). Open-set SRT scores of patients with DoD aged ≤ 25 and > 25 years (p < 0.01) differed significantly. The chronological age and HHIE scores in social and emotional subfactors showed a strong negative linear relationship (r = − 0.519, p < 0.01). Conclusions: The present study showed that the number of years was a major factor determining that postlingual adults with profound hearing loss had hearing loss. The results support CI use as soon as possible in adults to prevent degeneration of the auditory pathways and possible central remodeling. However, auditory rehabilitation outcomes in adults using CI vary widely. Investigating the causes of this variability contributes to audiology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The retrospective case review investigated the effect of cochlear implantation in subjects aged 61 years or older with respect to their auditory performance. The study also analysed the effect of age on the performance, and it drew a comparison between the outcomes of older and younger adults. Methods: The outcome in a group of 446 patients aged 61 to 89 years at the time of unilateral cochlear implantation was compared with the outcome in a group of 110 patients aged 17 to 42 years. Auditory performance was measured with open-set monosyllabic word testing and sentences in quiet and in noise. Results: In the monosyllabic word recognition test, the group of older adults performed significantly better after cochlear implantation compared with their scores prior to implantation (p < 0.001; r = 0.59). Their auditory performance correlated negatively with their age. However, the correlation was of small strength. Significant differences in auditory performance were detected between sexagenarians and octogenarians (p < 0.001; r = 0.27). Additionally, a statistically significant difference was revealed between the groups of older and younger adults in the monosyllabic word test (p = 0.001; r = 0.15). Conclusion: Elderly cochlear implant recipients can benefit significantly from cochlear implantation. Although higher age correlates negatively with auditory performance, its influence in the presented sample is small. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To report on a retrospective cohort study on the effects of expanding inclusion criteria for application of cochlear implants (CIs) on the performance 1-year post-implantation. Methods: Based on pre-implantation audiometric thresholds and aided speech recognition scores, the data of 164 CI recipients were divided into a group of patients that fulfilled conservative criteria (mean hearing loss at 0.5, 1 and 2 kHz > 85 dB HL and phoneme scores with hearing aids < 30%), and the remaining group of patients that felt outside this conservative criterion. Speech recognition scores (in quiet) and quality of life (using the NCIQ) of both groups, measured at 1-year post-implantation, were compared. Results: The group that felt outside the conservative criterion showed a higher phoneme score at 1-year post-implantation compared to the conservative group, suggesting that relaxed criteria have a positive influence on the speech recognition results with CI. With respect to quality of life, both groups significantly improved 1-year post-implantation. The conservative group showed a higher benefit on the advanced perception domain of the NCIQ. Based on their worse pre-implantation hearing, this was expected. Conclusions: The data suggest that relaxation of CI indication positively affects the speech recognition performance of patients with severe hearing loss. Both groups of patients showed a positive effect of CI on the quality of life. This benefit relates to communication skills and the subjective day-to-day functioning in society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The influence of age on adaptation to cochlear implant (CI) is still being contested in the literature. The aim of this study was twofold. First, hearing outcomes in quiet conditions were compared between CI users implanted over and under the age of 70 years. Second, the effect of the duration of auditory deprivation was investigated. The study design is a retrospective review and the setting is in academic tertiary referral center. One hundred and twenty-one postlingually deafened implanted adults participated in this study. Hearing outcomes were compared between 121 postlingually deafened adults implanted under 40, between 40 and 70, and over 70 years of age. Speech audiometry measurements were taken at 1, 3, 6, 12, 24 and 60 months post-cochlear implantation (pCI), in quiet conditions only. Hearing outcomes were significantly better only at 1 year pCI in the youngest group compared to the two older groups. No significant difference was observed between the middle-aged and eldest subjects at any time. The influence of the severe-to-profound hearing loss (SPHL) duration was investigated and found to be equally distributed among the different age groups. Good hearing outcomes in elderly patients are not secondary to a difference in SPHL duration. Age should not be a limiting factor for cochlear implantation decision. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of the study was to compare the performance of cochlear implantation between post-meningitic and non-meningitic patients, and to evaluate the impact on hearing outcome of technical advances in cochlear implant technology. Retrospective chart review was used as the study design. Twenty adults with post-meningitic profound hearing loss receiving unilateral or bilateral cochlear implants between 1990 and 2008 were tested. Results were compared to a control group of 46 adults implanted for a non-meningitic hearing loss, with the same pre-operative speech scores. Speech scores were poorer in post-meningitic patients compared to those of control group, whatever the duration after implantation (p < 0.0001). Speech scores of subjects implanted and fitted before 2001 were compared to those of subjects implanted after 2001, with the same duration of hearing loss. Performance improved with implants and processors available after 2001, with a magnitude of improvement higher in post-meningitic patients (p < 0.0001 and p < 0.05 in post-meningitic and control groups, respectively, two-way ANOVA). Consequently, speech scores of post-meningitic patients implanted after 2001 achieved those of control subjects (two-way ANOVA). Advances in cochlear implant technology and coding strategy improve hearing outcome in post-meningitic adult patients, who now achieve similar performance as those of non-meningitic patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A variety of internal and external factors influence speech perception performance following cochlear implantation (CI) in adult deaf patients. The aim of this study was to evaluate the speech perception performance during repetition testing according to various factors and to identify the predictive factors associated with postoperative speech perception. The performances on speech perception under audio-only conditions were examined over time in 61 adult patients with CI. Mono- and bi-syllable and sentence repetition testing, using both the Korean version of the Central Institute for the Deaf (K-CID) and the K-Western Aphasia Battery test (K-WAB), were performed preoperatively and at 3, 6 and 12 months postoperatively. To elucidate the effect that the etiology of deafness has on postoperative outcome, patients were divided into the following four groups: Prelingual hearing loss (HL) ( n = 9), Meningitis ( n = 6), Progressive HL ( n = 31) and Sudden HL groups ( n = 15). Moreover, the duration of HL and deafness was defined as follows: (1) 'age of deafness onset: AoD', (2) 'number of years between the onset of profound deafness and CI: DoD' and (3) 'percentage of the patient's life with moderate-to-profound hearing loss before CI: PoL'. DoD and PoL were significantly different between the four groups. Although AoD appeared to be associated with performance on the sentence repetition test before standardizing for education level and age ( P = 0.015), there was no association after adjusting for these factors ( P = 0.719). Only PoL showed a good correlation with performance on repetition testing after CI after adjusting for AoD and DoD. However, DoD was associated with speech perception performance on the sentence repetition test only. In addition, speech perception performance results in the Progressive and Sudden HL groups were improved over the Prelingual HL and Meningitis groups. The Meningitis group showed the poorest speech perception performance among postlingually deaf adults. Consideration of age, education level, etiology and overall time with hearing loss may be necessary for predicting speech perception outcomes in CI recipients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to evaluate the neural response in double-array cochlear implant as well as to describe the refractory recovery and the spread of excitation functions. In a prospective study 11 patients were implanted with the double-array cochlear implant. Neural response telemetry (NRT) was performed intra-operatively. NRT threshold could be registered in 6 of the 11 patients, at least in one electrode. The remaining five patients did not show measurable neural response intra-operatively. It was noted that although recovery and spread of excitation functions could be recorded in all the tested electrodes with measurable neural responses, the responses were shown to be different from the usual register in patients with other etiologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]