Systematic Review on Late Cochlear Implantation in Early-Deafened Adults and Adolescents: Predictors of Performance
Ear and Hearing
Debruyne, J. A., Janssen, A. M., et al. (2020).
Ear and Hearing, 41(6), 1431-1441.
This systematic review explores post-operative outcomes in late cochlear implantation in adults and adolescents with hearing loss at pre- or perilingual age of onset.
Not stated
2000 to September 2017
Peer-reviewed articles with pre- and post-test or respective designs
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Factors significantly associated with speech understanding outcomes post-CI included: <br />
<ul>
<li>preoperative speech intelligibility;</li>
<li>communication mode in childhood (i.e., verbal versus total or manual communication); and</li>
<li>speech recognition scores regarding consonant-vowel-consonant presentations and sentences.</li>
</ul>
Individuals with gradual hearing loss onset demonstrated improved CI outcomes compared to those with sudden onset. The authors found no significant associations to post-CI speech understanding outcomes for the following factors: <br />
<ul>
<li>duration of deafness;</li>
<li>age of diagnosis;</li>
<li>mode of communication in adulthood;</li>
<li>preoperative hearing thresholds;</li>
<li>age at first hearing aid use;</li>
<li>duration and/or presence of hearing aid use prior to CI;</li>
<li>age and/or duration of implantation; or</li>
<li>specific CI characteristics (e.g., electrode placement, speech processing strategy, and device type).</li>
</ul>
Limitations of this review include the high risk of bias of included studies and the limited number of studies and sample sizes investigated within each variable. Additional research is needed.
