Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 1, 2026
Extracting the Cochlea from a Human Temporal Bone: A Cadaveric Protocol
Published on: August 18, 2023
Long-term clinical course and temporal bone histology after cochlear implantation
Holger G Gassner1, Jon K Shallop, Colin L W Driscoll
1Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, USA.
Objectives:
Illustrate long-term follow-up clinical and histologic data from a patient with unilateral multichannel cochlear implantation.
Design:
Case report.
Methods:
Clinical history, evolution of audiometric findings, and results of temporal bone histopathology of a patient implanted with a Nucleus 22 system in the right ear were analysed and interpreted.
Results:
Audiometry showed severe bilateral sensorineural hearing loss, which progressed in the non-implanted ear postoperatively. With the implanted ear, speech perception was excellent postoperatively and remained stable over 5 years. Histology showed a relatively small number of spiral ganglion cells bilaterally.
Conclusions:
Cochlear implantation can provide stable hearing in light of deteriorating hearing loss in the non-implanted ear. Only a small number of surviving ganglion cells were necessary for the implant.
