Abstract
BackgroundThere is an urgent need to develop new therapies to improve cognitive function in adults following cochlear implant surgery. This study aims to determine if completing at-home computer-based brain training activities improve memory and thinking skills in adults following their first cochlear implant.MethodsThis study will be conducted as a single-blind, head-to-head, randomised controlled trial (RCT). It will determine whether auditory training combined with adaptive computerised cognitive training will elicit greater improvement in cognition, sound and speech perception, mood, and quality of life outcomes in adult cochlear implant recipients, when compared to auditory training combined with non-adaptive (i.e. placebo) computerised cognitive training. Participants 18 years or older who meet the clinical criteria for a cochlear implant will be recruited into the study.ResultsThe results of this trial will clarify whether the auditory training combined with cognitive training will improve cognition, sound and speech perception, mood, and quality of life outcomes in adult cochlear implant recipients.DiscussionWe anticipate that our findings will have implications for clinical practice in the treatment of adult cochlear implant recipients.Trial registrationAustralian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry ACTRN12619000609156. Registered on April 23 2019.
Highlights
There is an urgent need to develop new therapies to improve cognitive function in adults following cochlear implant surgery
It is not clear whether cochlear implantation or cochlear implantation combined with post-operative auditory rehabilitation has the potential to improve cognition in adults following surgery
The multidomain computerised cognitive training (CCT) that we propose in this manuscript involves training multiple cognitive domains simultaneously and provides greater therapeutic benefit by targeting a combination of cognitive skills that likely overlap and are used in combination, in complex real-world situations [35, 36], since frontal cognitive resources are used during successful processing and interpretation of speech/sound [37] and meta-analytic evidence indications that adults with hearing loss primarily demonstrate deficits in attention, short-term/working memory, and executive function [38]
Summary
There is an urgent need to develop new therapies to improve cognitive function in adults following cochlear implant surgery. Five studies reported improved cognition following cochlear implantation. Only two studies reported that participants completed post-operative auditory rehabilitation [8, 12], despite clinical guidelines recommending auditory rehabilitation for successful use and adjustment to a new cochlear implant [14]. It is not clear whether cochlear implantation or cochlear implantation combined with post-operative auditory rehabilitation has the potential to improve cognition in adults following surgery
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