Outcomes of Cochlear Implantation (CI) in Straightforward Adult Candidates - Can We Do Better for those who Cannot Understand Speech with Hearing Aids

Background: Only <5% of those who can benefit from CI, are indeed implanted. Better understanding at the target population site (i.e. hearing professionals who are not CI specialists, and CI candidates) as for what can be expected from CI in different groups of CI candidates, and what factors determine patients satisfaction in needed.

Objective: The study focused on straightforward CI users and aimed at determining outcomes of CI in a well-defined group of straightforward implantees using commonly used evaluation tools, hearing threshold and monosyllabic words scores.

Methods: Hearing threshold, monosyllabic words scores in quiet (presentation level: 50dBHL) and in noise (SNR=+5dB) and SSQ12 scores were documents in 20 straightforward (normal cochlea, normal language, minimal auditory deprivation) adults with ≥20 months of CI experience and associations were searched for between different demographic parameters and the depended parameters.

Results: After implantation serviceable thresholds were achieved in all patients up to 4000 Hz. Patients with better post-CI threshold at 500 Hz were more satisfied from their CI hearing. All implantees scored ≥40% in quiet and 90% scored ≥60%, all developed monosyllabic words understanding in noise and 50% scored ≥40% in noise. Correlation was found between young age at implantation and monosyllabic words score in quiet improvement, and between duration of CI use and monosyllabic words scores in noise.

Conclusions: Hearing professionals can promise straightforward hearing impaired adults with ≤20% monosyllabic words scores in quiet, that CI is expected to overcome natural history of their hearing loss (which is to become completely deaf). After implantation straightforward users have 90% chance to reach ≥60% on monosyllabic words understanding quiet and 50% chance to score ≥40%. They are expected to further improve over time. Achieving as good as possible hearing threshold after implantation is important for the satisfaction of CI users.