Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 30, 2026
Systematic Hearing Performance Evaluation Process for Adolescents with Cochlear Implantation at Early Ages
Published on: March 24, 2023
The Impact of Postmeningitic Labyrinthitis Ossificans on Speech Performance After Pediatric Cochlear Implantation
Christopher C Liu1, Melissa Sweeney, Timothy N Booth
1*Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, University of Texas at Southwestern Medical Center †Department of Pediatric Otolaryngology, Children's Health ‡Callier Center for Communication Disorders, University of Texas at Dallas §Department of Radiology, Children's Health ||Department of Radiology, University of Texas at Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, U.S.A.
Objective:
1) To characterize pediatric cochlear implant performance in patients with hearing loss secondary to bacterial meningitis. 2) To evaluate performance differences in patients with and without labyrinthitis ossificans (LO).
Study Design:
Retrospective case review.
Setting:
A large university-based multidisciplinary cochlear implant program.
Patients:
Forty-nine patients with hearing loss from bacterial meningitis who received cochlear implants from 1991 to 2011. Thirty-nine patients had adequate data for analysis.
Intervention:
Cochlear implantation with postoperative performance evaluation.
Main Outcome Measure(S):
Speech perception category (SPC).
Results:
Nineteen (48.7%) patients had intraoperative evidence of LO. Fourteen patients (70.0%) without LO compared with seven (36.8%) with LO developed open-set speech after implantation. There was a trend toward better postimplant SPC outcomes in patients without LO that did not reach statistical significance (p = 0.17). The presence of LO negatively correlated with classroom placement (p < 0.05). Analysis of each group individually demonstrated statistically significant improvement in pre- versus postimplant SPC outcomes (p < 0.001).
Conclusion:
The presence of LO may negatively affect performance in pediatric patients receiving a cochlear implant for hearing loss secondary to bacterial meningitis.
