Cochlear Implantation in Elderly Patients: Survival Duration, Hearing Outcomes, Complication Rates, and Cost Utility

The prevalence of hearing loss and its consequences is increasing as the elderly population grows. As the guidelines for cochlear implantation (CI) expand, the number of elderly CI recipients is also increasing. We report complication rates, survival duration, and audiological outcomes for CI recipients aged 80 years and over and discuss the cost utility of CI in this age group.

A retrospective cohort study was undertaken of all CI recipients (126 cases), aged 80 years and over at the time of their surgery, implanted at our institution (Cambridge University Hospitals) during a period from January 1, 2001, to March 31, 2019. Data on survival at 1, 3, and 5 years post-implantation, post-operative complications and functional hearing outcomes including audiometric and speech discrimination outcomes (Bamford-Kowal-Bench sentence test) have been reported.

The mean age at implantation was 84 years. The mean audiometric score improved from 108 dB HL to 28 dB HL post-implantation. The mean Bamford-Kowal-Bench score improved from 14% to 66% and 73% at 2 and 12 months post-implantation, respectively. The complication rate was 15.3%. The survival probability at 1 year post-implantation was 0.95 for females and 0.93 for males, at 3 years was 0.89 for females and 0.81 for males, and at 5 years was 0.74 for females and 0.54 for males.

CI is safe and well-tolerated in this age group and elderly patients gain similar audiometric and functional benefit as found for younger age groups.