Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 12, 2025
Systematic Hearing Performance Evaluation Process for Adolescents with Cochlear Implantation at Early Ages
Published on: March 24, 2023
Comparison of Outcomes After Cochlear Implantation in a Veteran Versus Nonveteran Population
Siddhant H Tripathi1, Sarah M Adams1, Eric M Wong1
1Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, Ohio.
Objective:
To evaluate for equivalence in postoperative changes of speech recognition scores in a veteran patient population undergoing cochlear implantation (CI) compared to matched nonveteran patients.
Study Design:
Retrospective chart review.
Setting:
Tertiary referral center.
Patients:
A total of 83 veteran patients who underwent CI at a single Veterans Affairs Medical Center (VA cohort) were matched to 83 nonveteran patients from the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act-secure, Encrypted, Research, Management and Evaluation Solution database (HERMES cohort) based on age, sex, and baseline Consonant-Nucleus-Consonant (CNC) scores.
Intervention:
Patients underwent CI.
Main Outcome Measures:
Comparison of postoperative CNC and Arizona Biomedical Institute recognition scores.
Results:
The mean difference and lower confidence interval of CNC scores between matched Veterans Affairs and HERMES cohorts were within a -ΔNI boundary of -15% at the 3-month (mean = 6.15, lower confidence interval = -2.38), 6-month (mean = 7.36, lower confidence interval = -2.21), and 12-month (mean = 4.03, lower confidence interval = -4.88) postoperative time points. The mean difference and lower confidence interval of Arizona Biomedical Institute scores between cohorts were within the -ΔNI boundary of -30% at 3 months (mean = 1, lower confidence interval = -8.71), 6 months (mean = 0.31, lower confidence interval = -12.30), and 12 months (mean = 0.72, lower confidence interval = -10.48).
Conclusion:
Our veteran population demonstrated improvements in speech recognition scores after CI comparable to a matched nonveteran population. Although veterans face unique factors that affect their hearing, access to medical care, and baseline general health, these findings affirm appropriate veteran candidates should be offered CI.
