Predicting Speech Outcomes After Cochlear Implantation in Older Adults Using the Self-administered Gerocognitive...

The purpose of this study is to determine if a cognitive test, Self-administered Gerocognitive Examination (SAGE), correlates with speech recognition outcomes 1 year after cochlear implantation in adults over 65 years of age.

Retrospective study was conducted at a single institution. Surgery was performed by two surgeons on adult patients (>65 yrs) with postlingual bilateral sensorineural hearing loss meeting clinical and audiological candidacy for unilateral cochlear implantation. Patients who performed SAGE preimplantation, and speech testing (CNC, AzBio in quiet, AzBio in noise) before and 1 year after implantation were included.

Forty patients with a mean age of 78 were included. The overall mean preoperative SAGE score was 17.4 (95% CI 16.2-18.7). Greater than 17 is considered normal. Data demonstrated a statistically significant linear correlation between preoperative SAGE scores with change in speech testing 1 year postoperatively: CNC-Adjusted R-squared: 0.1955, p value: 0.002508; AzBio in quiet-Adjusted R-squared: 0.1564, p value: 0.006686; AzBio in noise-Adjusted R-squared: 0.1543, p value: 0.007053. Multivariate linear regression analysis revealed that age and SAGE scores both statistically correlated with speech testing 1 year after implantation (p = 0.01 for both). Patients who passed the SAGE (≥17) had statistically significant higher CNC, AzBio in quiet, and AzBio in noise scores 1 year postoperatively compared with patients with low SAGE scores (<17) despite statistically similar age means in each group.

SAGE can predict speech recognition testing 1 year after cochlear implantation in older adults over 65 years of age.