Outcome of cochlear implants in elderly adults

• The proportion of elderly population increases and an increasing number of old adults have severe to profound hearing impairment, thus being possible cochlear implant (CI) candidates. The aim of the project was to assess the outcome of CI in terms of speech audiometric results and self-reported benefit in adults with a special emphasis on elderly adults.Subjects and methods: All 124 adult patients (≥ 18 years at implantation) who have been implanted in the Linköping CI program in 1992-2009 were eligible for the study. In addition to audiological tests, the pre-operative assessment of adult patients includes tests of working memory capacity, phonological and lexical processing skills. Glasgow Benefit Inventory (GBI), a self-assessment instrument covering general health, degree of social support and physical state, was mailed to the CI recipients.Results: Response rate was high (90%) and 43 of the participants were ≥ 65 years. The mean time the participants had used their CI was 5.1 years (SD 4, range 1.2-16.9). All patients, with one exception, reached some degree of open set speech recognition. GBI results were comparable to earlier reports in CI populations. Analyses of the cognitive test results and more detailed analyses of speech reception and GBI among the oldest olds (≥75 years) will be reported.Discussion: According to our preliminary results, CI gives good benefit in the whole group. Provided that a careful assessment of cognitive abilities has been made and general health is reasonably good, a good outcome can be expected also in the oldest part of the population.

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