Auditory Brainstem Implants for Hearing Rehabilitation in NF2-Schwannomatosis: A Systematic Review and Single-Arm Meta-Analysis

NeuroRehabilitation

Wang, B., Yan, M., et al. (2024).

NeuroRehabilitation, 54(2), 213-225.

This systematic review and meta-analysis explores audiological outcomes following auditory brainstem implants in individuals with NF2-schwannaomatosis, an autosomal dominant disorder associated with increased risk of hearing loss.

National Natural Science Foundation of China; Platform Construction of Basic Research and Clinical Translation of Nervous System Injury (China)

Not specified

Full-text publications

33

Overall, audiological performance improved following auditory brainstem implantation in individuals with NF2-schwannaomatosis aged 12 and over. Additionally, reported complications decreased over time. The following effect sizes were reported overall (ES overall) and for individuals speaking tonal (ES tonal) and non-tonal (ES non-tonal) languages:<br /> <ul> <li><strong>environmental sound discrimination</strong>: overall ES = 0.58, ES tonal = 0.51, and ES non-tonal = 0.58;</li> <li><strong>closed-set discrimination</strong>: overall ES = 0.55, ES tonal = 0.54, and ES non-tonal = 0.55;</li> <li><strong>sound only open-set discrimination</strong>: overall ES = 0.30;</li> <li><strong>lip-reading only open-set discrimination</strong>: overall ES = 0.46, ES tonal = 0.28, ES non-tonal = 0.47; and</li> <li><strong>sound and lip-reading open-set discrimination</strong>: overall ES = 0.63, ES tonal = 0.46, ES non-tonal = 0.64.</li> </ul> <p>Overall, 388 events of related complications were reported, with a pooled occurrence rate of 33% overall, 50% for individuals speaking tonal languages and 32% for individuals speaking non-tonal languages. Common complications included tingling sensations, dizziness, and cerebrospinal fluid leaks.<br /><br />Limitations to this review include a lack of available RCTs, heterogeneity in audiological measures, and the lack of differentiation between multi-channel auditory brainstem implants.&nbsp;</p>