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Systematic Hearing Performance Evaluation Process for Adolescents with Cochlear Implantation at Early Ages
Published on: March 24, 2023
Simultaneous bilateral cochlear implantation: prospective study in adults
Dawn Burton Koch1, Sigfrid D Soli, Mark Downing
1House Ear Institute, Los Angeles, California, United States.
Cochlear Implants International
|February 28, 2009
Summary
Individuals with two cochlear implants experienced significant benefits, including better sound localization and speech understanding in noisy environments, compared to using a single implant. This research highlights the advantages of bilateral cochlear implantation.
Area of Science:
- Audiology
- Neuroscience
- Biomedical Engineering
Background:
- Normal-hearing individuals benefit from binaural hearing for sound localization and speech-in-noise perception.
- Bilateral cochlear implantation offers the potential for similar advantages in hearing-impaired individuals.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the benefits of bilateral versus unilateral cochlear implant listening.
- To assess speech perception and sound localization in users of two cochlear implants.
Main Methods:
- 15 postlinguistically deafened adults with simultaneous bilateral Harmony (HiRes 90K) cochlear implants participated.
- Speech perception in quiet and noise, and sound localization accuracy were measured for unilateral and bilateral conditions.
Main Results:
- Bilateral cochlear implant use significantly improved sound localization accuracy compared to unilateral use.
- Speech perception in both quiet and noisy conditions was better with two implants than with one.
Conclusions:
- Bilateral cochlear implantation provides significant auditory benefits for postlinguistically deafened adults.
- These benefits include enhanced sound localization and improved speech understanding, mirroring advantages of normal binaural hearing.
