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Updated: Mar 21, 2026
Systematic Hearing Performance Evaluation Process for Adolescents with Cochlear Implantation at Early Ages
Published on: March 24, 2023
Cochlear implantation in adults with unilateral deafness: A review of the assessment/evaluation protocols
Dayse Távora-Vieira1, Roberta Marino1, Aanand Acharya1
1a Otolaryngology, Head & Neck Surgery-School of Surgery , University of Western Australia , Perth, Australia, Fiona Stanley Hospital, Perth , Australia.
Objectives:
Cochlear implantation is becoming widely used outside the tertiary research centers for treatment of unilateral deafness (UD). No consensus exists, however, on the most suitable assessment/evaluation protocols for this group of adult patients. This paper aims to review the assessment and evaluation protocols used by various research groups and to propose a protocol for the use in the clinical setting.
Methods:
The PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library databases were searched with the keywords 'cochlear', 'implant', 'single-sided', 'deafness', 'adults', 'unilateral', and 'deafness'. The words were either used individually, combined in pairs, or in groups of 5. All articles reporting on prospective studies, retrospective studies, or case studies were included.
Results:
Sixteen published studies met the inclusion criteria. Measures of hearing performance, tinnitus, subjective quality of hearing, and quality of life varied greatly among studies.
Discussion:
Adaptive speech in noise testing, localization, tinnitus measurement questionnaires, and self-rated hearing improvement are widely used among the research groups. These tools in conjunction assess and evaluate the main issues associated with UD.
Conclusion:
The test battery most commonly used to assess and evaluate adult cochlea implant users with UD consists of (a) a subjective self-rating of hearing performance, (b) localization testing, and
