Abstract
OBJECTIVE: This study was designed to test the hypothesis that partial hearing conservation is attainable after cochlear implantation with a long perimodiolar electrode. Surgical strategies for hearing conservation during cochlear implantation are described. STUDY DESIGN: Prospective, single-subject, repeated-measures design. SETTING: Academic tertiary care center. PATIENTS: Twenty-eight severely to profoundly hearing-impaired adult cochlear implant recipients who had some measurable hearing preoperatively. INTERVENTION: Cochlear implantation using Nucleus Freedom Contour Advance electrode. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Preimplant and postimplant pure-tone thresholds and speech recognition scores were obtained to determine the incidence and degree of conserved hearing at a mean interval of 9 (±3.9) months. RESULTS: Thirty-two percent of subjects experienced complete conservation of hearing (0- to 10-dB loss), and 57% experienced partial conservation of hearing (>11 dB) after implantation. However, open-set speech recognition was partially conserved in only one subject. Cochlear implant performance was not better in patients with conservation of residual hearing. CONCLUSION: Conservation of pure-tone hearing was possible in 89% of implanted patients; however, residual speech perception was not conserved with this long perimodiolar electrode. A ceiling effect tends to inflate the prevalence of hearing conservation in implantation studies of severely to profoundly hearing-impaired patients.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 1083-1088 |
Number of pages | 6 |
Journal | Otology and Neurotology |
Volume | 27 |
Issue number | 8 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Dec 1 2006 |
Keywords
- Advance off stylet technique
- Atraumatic electrode insertion
- Cochlear implant
- Deaf
- Ear surgery
- Hearing conservation
- Hearing loss
- Hearing preservation
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Otorhinolaryngology
- Neuroscience(all)