Cochlear implantation in children with congenital unilateral surditas

Introduction The aim of the fitting of a cochlear implant (CI) in children with unilateral congenital deafness is, similarly to that of adults, to improve speech understanding in quiet and in noise and spatial hearing by enabling binaural hearing. The aim is to ensure that speech acquisition is impaired as little as possible and to achieve increased attention and concentration for everyday (school) life. Method: Retrospective workup of 22 connatally unilateral deaf (SSD) children who have been fitted with a CI for at least one year. The etiology of the hearing loss, the daily wearing time and the localization ability were considered. Results: The mean age of implantation was 28 months (SD 22;77 months), the average duration of fitting at data collection was 51 months (SD 28;82 months). In 8 (36  % ) of the children examined, there is a malformation of the inner ear or the inner auditory canal, in 8 (36  % ) children the etiology remained unknown so far, in 3 (14  % ) children a connatal CMV infection is assumed to be the cause. Overall, unilateral CI fitting is accepted by 86  %  of the children with full-day wear (9  %  non-user, 5  %  unknown), in 17 (77  % ) of the children a localization ability can be proven. Conclusion: Based on the results, cochlear implantation may be a treatment option for children with unilateral deafness of varying etiology. Important criteria for the decision to cochlear implantation seem to be the radiological assessment of the auditory nerve system and the duration of deafness.

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Publication History

Article published online:
13 May 2021