Open AccessObjective vestibular function changes in children following cochlear implantation
Author(s) -
Ruijie Wang,
Xiuhua Chao,
Jianfen Luo,
Daogong Zhang,
Jiliang Xu,
Xianfeng Liu,
Zhaomin Fan,
Haibo Wang,
Lei Xu
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
journal of vestibular research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.118
H-Index - 53
eISSN - 1878-6464
pISSN - 0957-4271
DOI - 10.3233/ves-190763
Subject(s) - medicine , vestibular evoked myogenic potential , semicircular canal , vestibular system , vestibular aqueduct , cochlear implantation , caloric theory , audiology , caloric test , cochlear implant
BACKGROUND: To date, systematically objective evaluations of vestibular function in children with cochlear implantation (CI) have been conducted sparsely, especially in children with large vestibular aqueduct syndrome (LVAS). OBJECTIVE: Our goal was to investigate the function of all five vestibular end-organs pre- and post-cochlear implantation in children with LVAS and normal CT. METHODS: In this retrospective cohort study, 34 children (age 4–17 years) with bilateral profound sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) undergoing unilateral CI were included. Participants included 18 (52.9%) children with LVAS. Objective modalities to evaluate vestibular function included the caloric test, cervical vestibular-evoked myogenic potentials (cVEMP), ocular vestibular-evoked myogenic potentials (oVEMP), and video head impulse test (vHIT). All measurements were performed before surgery and 9 months after surgery. RESULTS: Mean age at CI was 8.1±3.7 years. Caloric testing showed hypofunction in 38.2% of cases before implantation and in 50% after (p > 0.05). We found a significant increase of overall abnormality rate in cVEMP and oVEMP from pre- to post-CI (p 0.05). Higher deterioration rates in cVEMP (53.3%) and oVEMP (52.0%) after surgery were observed (p < 0.05). In children with LVAS, cVEMP revealed a higher deterioration rate than superior semicircular canal (SSC) and posterior semicircular canal (PSC) (p < 0.05). In children with normal CT, the deterioration rates in VEMPs were both higher than those in vHIT (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: In general, the otolith organs were the most affected peripheral vestibular sensors in children after cochlear implantation. The variations in otolith function influenced by CI were different between children with LVAS and normal CT. We recommend the use of this vestibular function test battery for children with cochlear implantation.