Long-term results of the multichannel cochlear implant

Clinical results obtained with the multichannel cochlear implant are described in 48 cases of total deafness (27 cases of prelingual and 21 cases of postlingual deafness). The tolerance for implanted material and the survival of the electrode-nerve interface have not yet been altered after more than 5 years. After some months of training the patients, the percentages of phoneme-, word-, and sentence-recognition vary from one patient to another, but depend approximately on the value of the threshold level of the round-window stimulation test, and the degree of socialization of each patient. These results suggest that the multichannel cochlear implant may now be considered as a useful tool in the rehabilitation of totally deaf persons.