Preoperative diagnosis and evaluation of cochlear implantation in patients with cochlear nerve deficiency

: Cochlear nerve deficiency (CND) refers to a small or absent cochlear branch of the vestibulocochlear nerve (VCN) or cochlear nerve (CN). Congenitally deaf children with CND who received cochlear implants (CIs) generally exhibit poorer auditory performance than CI children without CND. It is important to confirm the integrity of the auditory pathway before surgery. High-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) and three-dimensional magnetic resonance imaging (3D MRI) are major techniques used to diagnosis CND. In this paper, we reviewed the methods of preoperative evaluation, cochlear nerve embryonic development, techniques for diagnosis and outcomes of cochlear implantation.