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Updated: Jul 9, 2025
Systematic Hearing Performance Evaluation Process for Adolescents with Cochlear Implantation at Early Ages
Published on: March 24, 2023
Bilateral simultaneous cochlear implants in children: Best timing of surgery and long-term auditory outcomes
Sebastiano Franchella1, Stefano Concheri1, Valerio Maria Di Pasquale Fiasca1
1Section of Otorhinolaryngology, Department of Neuroscience, University of Padova, Padova, Italy.
Insights
Bilateral cochlear implantation (CI) in deaf children yields better hearing outcomes when performed before 24 months of age. Early implantation, especially in younger children, significantly improves short-term and long-term aided pure tone audiometry results.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Otolaryngology
- Auditory Neuroscience
- Speech and Hearing Sciences
Background:
- Bilateral sensorineural hearing loss affects numerous children, necessitating effective interventions.
- Cochlear implantation (CI) is a primary treatment for severe to profound hearing loss.
- Simultaneous bilateral CI offers potential benefits for auditory development in pediatric populations.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate hearing outcomes in children with bilateral deafness undergoing simultaneous cochlear implantation.
- To determine the optimal surgical timing for bilateral cochlear implantation in pediatric patients.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective analysis of audiological results from 56 children with bilateral CI.
- Stratification of patients based on age at implantation to compare short-term and long-term outcomes.
- Collection of data on age at implant activation, deafness etiology, onset, and psychomotor delay.
Main Results:
- Younger children demonstrated significantly better short-term aided pure tone audiometry results.
- Early age at implantation correlated significantly with improved long-term hearing outcomes up to 5 years.
- No significant hearing outcome differences were observed between implantation before 12 months and 12-16 months.
Conclusions:
- Children implanted before 24 months of age generally achieve better hearing performances.
- Results highlight the importance of early intervention but acknowledge patient heterogeneity.
- The duration of auditory deprivation remains a critical factor influencing CI outcomes.
Purpose:
Evaluate the hearing outcomes of bilateral deaf children implanted simultaneously and define the most appropriate timing for surgery.
Materials And Methods:
Audiological CI results were retrieved in both the short-term and long-term period and compared by stratifying the patients into different subcohorts according to their age at surgery. Additional data collected were age at implant activation, etiology and timing of onset of deafness, presence of psychomotor delay.
Results:
fifty-six bilaterally implanted children were included. The short-term outcomes differed significantly when comparing groups of different ages at implantation: younger patients achieved better aided pure tone audiometry results. Considering long-term follow-up, a significant correlation was identified between an early age at implantation and the hearing outcome at ages 2 to 5 years. Perceptive levels were better at 4 years of age in the younger group. No significant differences were found between children implanted at before 12 months and between 12 and 16 months of age.
Conclusions:
The results of the analyzed follow-up data support the hypothesis that children implanted at before 24 months are expected to have better hearing performances. Nevertheless, these results are referred to a widely heterogeneous group of patients and the duration of auditory deprivation should be considered.
