EXPECTATION FROM COCHLEAR IMPLANTATION IN PATIENTS WITH LONG-TERM PRELINGUAL DEAFNESS

Cochlear implantation is a well-established method of treating bilateral profound cochlear deafness. One should be aware that the medical literature is quite poor, in regard to the outcomes of the implantation of adolescents or adults with prelingual deafness. The aim of this study is to evaluate the audio-verbal outcome in late implanted adolescents and adults with congenital deafness. Material and methods: the study included 8 late implanted patients with bilateral profound deafness 4 of them were implanted as adolescents and the other 4 as adults; all of them were implanted at the Clinical Rehabilitation Hospital from Iasi. The patients’ hearing abilities were tested using 2 scales: Speech Perception Rating Scale and Speech Intelligibility Rating Scale. Results: all of the patients have benefited from the implant when their hearing performances were compared to those before implantation. Conclusions: the topic remains open as long as the studies had only a limited number of subjects, but even so it can be affirmed that, with no doubt, all the subjects have had significant improvements after implantation.