Long-term monaural auditory deprivation and bilateral cochlear implants

• Long-term binaural auditory deprivation is associated with poorer speech recognition outcomes after cochlear implantation, even for postlingual hearing loss. It is, however, unknown to what extent the outcomes of implantation are related to the peripheral changes occurring monaurally or to changes at a higher level in the auditory system related to binaural deafness. This retrospective study aimed to unravel peripheral and central contributions to cochlear implantation outcomes by comparing outcomes obtained in individual ears for adults with long-term monaural auditory deprivation (i.e. unilateral use of hearing aid) who received bilateral cochlear implants. Results showed that similar outcomes can be obtained with the implant placed in the auditory-deprived or in the aided ear. This suggests that the peripheral changes related to monaural auditory deprivation have little effect on outcomes of cochlear implantation. NeuroReport 23: 195-199

Nyckelord

auditory deprivation

auditory stimulation

bilateral

cochlear implants

deafness

electrical stimulation

hearing loss

monaural

speech perception

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