The Benefit of Bilateral Cochlear Implants in Adults With Bilateral Sensorineural Hearing Loss: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Cochlear Implants International
Bance, M., Costales Marcos, M., et al. (2025).
Cochlear Implants International, 26(3), 155-170.
<div>This systematic review and meta-analysis investigates the benefit of bilateral cochlear implants for adults with bilateral sensorineural hearing loss.</div>
Cochlear (Australia)
From 2005 to June 2022
<div>RCTs, clinical studies, retrospective or prospective observational studies, case series, meta-analyses, and HTAs.</div>
85
<div>Most studies showed a significant improvement in sound localization with bilateral CIs. With bilateral CIs, there were beneficial trends regarding the head-shadow effect and binaural release from masking. There were significant improvements in hearing-specific QoL, but not on generic QoL measures. A meta-analysis revealed statistically significant benefits for speech perception in quiet (SMD = 0.674) and in noise (SMD = -0.347).</div>
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<div>Limitations to this review include the potential for missed studies due to the search terms used, the small sample sizes of some of the included studies, the potential for publication bias, and the heterogeneity among the included studies.</div>
