An Umbrella Review of Cochlear Implant Outcomes in Children With Auditory Neuropathy
Journal of Speech, Language & Hearing Research
Jafari, Z., Fitzpatrick, E. M., et al. (2023).
Journal of Speech, Language & Hearing Research, 66(10), 4160-4176.
This umbrella review of systematic reviews investigates the effects of unilateral or bilateral cochlear implantation (CI) on auditory, speech, and/or language outcomes in children with presynaptic or postsynaptic auditory neuropathy spectrum disorder (ANSD). Specific details about the included articles are available elsewhere in the Evidence Maps. See the Associated Article(s) section below for the citations.
Ontario Graduate Scholarship (Canada); Queen Elizabeth II Graduate Scholarship in Science and Technology (Canada)
Some of the data in this umbrella review are included in other documents in the Evidence Maps, which can be found in the Associated Article(s) section below.
From database inception to November 2022
Systematic reviews with or without meta-analysis
8
While CI outcomes in children with ANSD vary significantly, most children demonstrate speech recognition outcomes similar to peers with sensorineural hearing loss who receive a CI. Hypoplasia without additional disabilities and/or medical comorbidities predicted better speech performance outcomes compared with aplasia in children with cochlear nerve deficiency. The authors note the overall critically low quality and high risk of bias of the included systematic reviews. Additional research with increased sample sizes, improved accountability of confounding factors, valid outcome measures, and matching criteria is warranted.
