Postoperative Healthcare Utilization of Elderly Adults After Cochlear Implantation

To determine the association between geriatric age and postoperative healthcare utilization after cochlear implantation.

Retrospective chart review.

Tertiary referral center.

Older adults (>59 yr) who underwent unilateral cochlear implantation from 2009 until 2016.

Standard electrode length cochlear implantation.

Postoperative surgical and audiological visit rate after cochlear implantation for those aged 60 to 69, 70 to 79, and 80+ years.

Fifty-nine older adult patients were included in the study with a mean age of 71.5 ± 6.9 years (range, 60-88 yr), mean duration of hearing loss of 25.4 ± 19.6 years (range, 0.25-67 yr), and mean length of follow up of 37 ± 24.6 months (range, 6-107 mo). There was no significant difference in the mean number of surgical and audiological visits over both the first and second postoperative years between those aged 60 to 69, 70 to 79, and 80+ years. Additionally, on one-way multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA), there was no significant difference in cumulative postoperative healthcare utilization measures between each age group, when controlling for postoperative AzBio scores, estimated household income, and driving distance to the hospital.

Older geriatric adults do not have higher rates of postoperative healthcare utilization after cochlear implantation than their younger, geriatric hearing impaired counterparts, despite presumed higher rates of frailty and comorbidity.