Bilateral Cochlear Implantation

Abstract

Cochlear implant surgery became the standard of care in hearing rehabilitation of patients with severe to profound sensorineural hearing loss. This procedure may alter the lives of children and adults enabling them to integrate with the hearing population. In the past, implantation was performed only in one ear, despite the fact that binaural hearing is superior to unilateral, especially in noisy conditions. Cochlear implantation may be performed sequentially or simultaneously. The "sensitive period" of time between hearing loss and implantation and between the two implantations, when performed sequentially, significantly influences the results. Shorter time spans between implantations improve the hearing results after implantation. Hearing success after implantation is highly dependent on the rehabilitation process which includes mapping, implant adjustments and hearing training. Bilateral cochlear implantation in children is recommended as the proposed procedure in spite of the additional financial burden.