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Updated: Jun 12, 2026

Cochlear Implant Surgery and Electrically-evoked Auditory Brainstem Response Recordings in C57BL/6 Mice
Published on: January 9, 2019
Cochlear implant recipients' hearing sensation as manifested by their maps during pregnancy and postpartum
Ricky Kaplan-Neeman1, Minka Hildesheimer, Chava Muchnik
1Speech and Hearing Center, Sheba Medical Center, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Hashomer, Israel.
Objective:
To investigate possible changes in hearing sensation as manifested in the maps' psychoacoustic parameters, threshold (T), and most comfortable (C/M) levels among cochlear implant (CI) female recipients during pregnancy and after delivery.
Setting:
University-affiliated tertiary referral center.
Design:
: Retrospective study.
Method:
Two MedEl device and 3 Nucleus device users' medical records were reviewed for age at the time of implantation, cause of deafness, type of anesthesia used during delivery, and maps' parameters (T and C/M levels) during pregnancy and after childbirth.
Results:
Two CI recipients underwent uncomplicated cesarean deliveries under spinal anesthesia, and 3 others had natural delivery without anesthesia. There were no changes in map values during pregnancy, delivery, and the postpartum period in 4 of 5 CI recipients. Only 1 CI recipient showed significant increase in T levels that was resolved after she completed breastfeeding 3 months postdelivery.
Conclusion:
The elevation in T levels might indicate that pregnancy and delivery can result in some temporary reversible changes in hearing sensation manifested by map levels of CI users.
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