Cochlear implantation for single-sided deafness in children and adolescents

Abstract Objective To evaluate outcomes in pediatric and adolescent patients with single-sided deafness (SSD) undergoing cochlear implantation. Methods A retrospective cohort design at two tertiary level academic cochlear implant centers. The subjects included nine children ages 1.5 to 15 years-old with single-sided deafness (SSD) who had undergone cochlear implantation in the affected ear. Objective outcome measures included were speech reception testing in quiet and noise, bimodal speech reception threshold testing in noise, tinnitus suppression, and device usage. Results Nine pediatric and adolescent patients with SSD were implanted between 2011 and 2017. The median age at implantation was 8.9 years (range, 1.5–15.1) and the children had a median duration of deafness 2.9 years (range, 0.8–9.5). There was variability in testing measures due to patient age. Median pre-operative aided word recognition scores on the affected side were Conclusion Pediatric subjects with SSD benefit substantially from cochlear implantation. Objective speech outcome measures are improved in both quiet and noise, and bimodal speech reception thresholds in noise are greatly improved. There is a low rate of device non-use.