A Retrospective Multicenter Study Comparing Speech Perception Outcomes for Bilateral Implantation and Bimodal Rehabilitation

Retrospective data from 2247 patients implanted since 2003 in 15 international centers were analyzed to assess which binaural hearing restoration provides better outcome between bilateral cochlear implants (CIs) and bimodal listening (one CI on one side + one hearing aid [HA] on the other side). A small but significant difference was observed in terms of speech understanding in favor of bilateral CIs compared to bimodal rehabilitation for people with low pre-operative performance. These results may be taken into consideration to refine surgical indications for CIs.