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Published on: August 4, 2023
Taste changes in patients who underwent cochlear implantation by the nonmastoidectomy approach
Lela Migirov1, Michael Drendel, Jona Kronenberg
1Department of Otolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery, Sheba Medical Center, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Hashomer, Israel. sabim@bezeqint.net
Objectives:
To describe taste changes following a nonmastoidectomy approach to cochlear implantation (CI).
Study Design:
Retrospective.
Method:
Ninety-four adult patients (63 females) who underwent CI using the suprameatal approach (SMA) were studied. They responded to a questionnaire on post-CI taste changes, duration of these changes and their influence on eating habits, weight and quality of life.
Results:
Fourteen patients (14.9%, all females) reported taste dysfunction (13 ranked as being mild). In 1 patient, the symptoms lasted >24 months, and dysgeusia was counted as permanent in this case. One patient changed her eating habits: she now prefers vegetarian food. The patients with early (<1 month) recovery of taste function were younger than those with delayed recovery.
Conclusions:
The SMA is a favorable technique for the preservation of taste sensation in CI patients. Manipulation on the chorda tympani nerve during the SMA did not much disturb the patients' eating habits and their quality of life.