Study to Compare Outcomes of Bilateral Sequential and Bilateral Simultaneous Cochlear Implant in Congenitally...

Cochlear implantation has revolutionized the management of congenital hearing impairment, offering remarkable improvements in speech perception and language development for individuals with severe to profound sensorineural hearing loss. However, the optimal timing and approach for bilateral cochlear implantation remains a subject of debate. Prospective observational study, conducted at a tertiary care hospital in New Delhi from July 2022 to Dec 2023 on 30 patients. It is a comparative analysis of two cochlear implantation strategies in Indian children with congenital hearing loss: bilateral sequential and bilateral simultaneous implants and examines speech perception, language development, auditory skills, and quality of life to guide clinical decisions and improve patient outcomes. In the present study, comparison of CAP and SIR scores revealed a statistical difference favouring simultaneous implants at 3 and 6 months, however the favour direction changed towards sequential implants at 9 and 12 months post implantation. Parental satisfaction measured by MAIS and MUSS scale showed better results with sequential implants at all intervals. Decision to implant a patient simultaneously or sequentially, is the one that requires multi-factorial data to be accumulated and tailored as per the individual as the decision taken will affect the overall development of the individual's physical, cognitive, language and social-emotional future.