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DOI: 10.1055/s-0042-1746758
Auditory rehabilitation with a cochlear implant improves cognitive performance
Introduction
It is well known, that cochlear implantation has multifactorial benefits for patients, newly the topic cognition has come to the fore. This study evaluates the benefit of cochlear implantation on working memory and processing speed as well as speech perception.
Methods
Postlingually deafend over 65-year-old patients (n=33) were included consecutively in this prospective study. The patients were tested preoperatively, one year and two years postoperatively with subtests of the Wechsler-Intelligence-Scale to test working memory and processing speed. Additionally health related quality of life was tested with the Nijmegen Cochlear Implant Questionnaires (NCIQ) and speech perception with the Freiburg Monosyllable Test (FE).
Results
33 patients (14 male;19 female) were included in this study. Preoperatively working memory was scaled as 93.45 ±13.15 and improved significantly during the 2-year-follow-up to 98.91 ± 13.03 (p=0,004). Processing speed ameliorated earlier after the 1-year-follow-up (95.82 ± 13.09 - > 101.77 ± 13.95; p=0.002) and even more after two years (102.13 ± 15.15). Speech perception (Monosyllables in quiet) improved from 5.76 ± 9.93 to 57.7 ± 20.27 (p<0.001). The NCIQ score improved from 50.1 ± 11.5 auf 53.2 ± 8.3 (p = 0.249).
Discussion
The signficant improvement of the working memory and processing speed during the 2-year-follow-up after CI suggests, that patients may train their fluid intelligence after and by auditory rehabilitation with CI, which is especially decreasing with age.
Publication History
Article published online:
24 May 2022
© 2022. The Author(s). This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial-License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
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