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Loss of residual hearing after cochlear implantation
Author(s) -
Boggess William J.,
Baker Jane E.,
Balkany Thomas J.
Publication year - 1989
Publication title -
the laryngoscope
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.181
H-Index - 148
eISSN - 1531-4995
pISSN - 0023-852X
DOI - 10.1288/00005537-198210000-00005
Subject(s) - cochlear implant , medicine , cochlear implantation , audiology , implant , hearing loss , pure tone audiometry , audiometry , surgery
Many cochlear implant recipients have some measurable hearing prior to implantation. Animal studies have demonstrated some loss of viable neural elements resulting from both mechanical insertion trauma and long‐term electrical stimulation. The effect of implantation of a long intracochlear multichannel electrode array and subsequent electrical stimulation on residual hearing was evaluated. Forty consecutive cochlear implant recipients were assessed by audiometry at the Colorado Ear Clinic between July 1985 and June 1988. Twelve of these patients (30%) had some measurable residual hearing before implantation, although all had profound hearing loss, with no understanding of speech. All patients received a multichannel cochlear implant with all 22 electrodes inserted in each patient by an experienced cochlear implant surgeon. Audiometric testing was repeated between 2 and 24 months after implantation. Pure‐tone threshold responses in the implanted ear were significantly reduced postimplant, while puretone threshold responses in the nonimplanted ear were stable.