Evaluation of outcome of cochlear implanted children after 2 years of rehabilitation in Alexandria: a retrospective study

Abstract

BackgroundCochlear implantation (CI) is an electronic hearing device that is surgically implanted to bypass damaged portions of the ear and directly stimulate the auditory nerve. Nowadays, CI prospects for children with profound hearing loss (HL) have been significantly improved. Now, most implanted children can expect similar audiological outcomes to those with moderate to severe HL with aids depending on the time of loss and cognitive function.AimThis study aimed at assessing the progress in all aspects of language acquisition and the effect of various factors on the outcome of cochlear implantation in children undergoing auditory training for at least 2 years after surgery.ResultsThe results showed the effectiveness of early implantation in terms of improvement in linguistic skills, indicated by significant change of language age scores when compared before and after surgery (median age 1.167 years to 4.75 years with p value < 0.0001). Significant improvement in degree of hearing level (HL median from 100 dB to 25 with p value < 0.0001), in addition to its effect on improving the general IQ (mean from 82.42 ± 9.46 to 88.61 ± 8.13 with p value = 0.006) and abstract IQ scores (mean from 83.48 ± 9.81 to 94.45 ± 10.41 with p value = 0.0001).ConclusionCI children showed significant improvement in speech perception, auditory skills, and IQ scores as well as receptive and expressive language after CI denoted by the improvement of language age. Significant improvement was found in early implantation age (under 2 years) in the postoperative degree of hearing level and in language test scores in comparison to older aged children.