ABSTRACT
Background: Cochlear Implantation (CI) has become an important modality of treatment for children with severe to profoundpre-lingual sensorineural hearing loss who do not benefit from hearing aids (HAs). The final outcome is not totally predictable,as there are a large number of factors which either alone or in combination will play their roles in the final outcome of CI.Aim of the Study: This study aims to evaluate prospectively the relative impact of multiple pre-, peri-, and post-operative factorson the final outcome of the CI in pre-lingual hearing impaired children aged 5 years under “Sruthitharangam” free cochlearimplant program of Government of Kerala.Materials and Methods: This study was conducted at Government Medical College, Kozhikode (GMC-KKD), Kerala, fromJanuary 2014 to January 2015. The study group consisted of 60 patients screened from the patients who have attendedAuditory verbal habilitation (AVH) categories of Auditory Performance (CAP) test, Meaningful auditory integration scale (MAIS)and Speech intelligibility rating test (SIR) at GMC-KKD, Kerala. Counseling of parents was done regarding regular follow-upsand therapy/support to the child at home.Observations and Results: Pearson correlation test and Spearman correlation test were done to check the correlation betweenage at which HA was first fitted and MAIS scores. Correlation between the age at which HA first fitted and MAIS was negative.As the age at which HAs were fitted increases, the MAIS score decreases. This indicates the significance of using the residualhearing and stimulation of auditory nerve as early as possible. Pearson correlation and Spearman correlation tests were appliedto check the correlation between age of surgery and MAIS score and found that there was negative correlation existing betweenage of surgery and MAIS scores. This meant, as the age at which surgery was done increases, the MAIS score decreases.Pearson correlation test and Spearman correlation tests were applied to check the MAIS scores and duration of AVH with HAs.Conclusions: A Cochlear implant was not a passive sensory aid or sensory substitution device that simply replaces a damaged ordefective cochlea to restore normal hearing but requires prolonged period of aural rehabilitation that involves perceptual learning,adaptation, and readjustment of their attention. The various risk factors that affect the auditory gain and speech perception eitheracting singly or in combination and the statistical analysis of the present study showed are the age at implantation, duration ofauditory deprivation, and the residual hearing which have a direct impact on the outcome over a period of 1 year.
ABSTRACT
@#BACKGROUND. Over 5% of the world’s population or 466 million people have disabling hearing loss (432 million adults and 34 million children). Profound sensorineural hearing loss and deafness can be treated successfully with a cochlear implant. A cochlear implant (CI) stimulates the auditory nerve, bypassing the defective cochlea, and provides auditory information to the developing brain, thus improving oral language. Children, who receive an early diagnosis of deafness and proper speech rehabilitation, and undergo early cochlear implantation, are able to develop auditory and linguistic skills at par with their hearing peers. METHOD. 6 deaf patients who underwent unilateral Cochlear Implantation at the NCMCH from January 2017 to June 2018 were included in the study. Participants were divided into 3 groups on the basis of age at which participants underwent implantation. RESULTS. Pre-op average MAIS was 1,6/40, Category of Auditory Performance (CAP) - 0,77 and SIR - 0,7/5 in all implanted age groups. Score increased over time to attain average score MAIS -29.6/40, CAP- 3.3/7 SIR-2.7/5 in all implanted groups at one year after implantation. CONCLUSION. There is a need for more research on patient age and gender composition, and outcomes of cochlear implantation and hearing devices in this study population. A robust set of study measures would provide statistical significance. Parent-child relationships affect hearing and speech therapy results, so there’s a need to improve parents’ knowledge regarding these therapies.