Successful rehabilitation with cochlear implant in post-irradiation induced hearing loss in nasopharyngeal carcinoma patient

ABSTRACT

<p><b>INTRODUCTION</b>We report a case of successful rehabilitation of hearing with a cochlear implant in a patient with nasopharyngeal carcinoma who developed post-irradiation hearing loss following treatment.</p><p><b>CLINICAL PICTURE</b>A 55-year-old Chinese lady suffered from radiation-induced sensorineural hearing loss due to treatment for nasopharyngeal carcinoma. Audiological tests and imaging studies showed an intact retrocochlear pathway.</p><p><b>TREATMENT</b>Cochlear implantation.</p><p><b>OUTCOME</b>Cochlear implant was done with successful rehabilitation of hearing until the time of this report.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>If functionally active auditory fibres survive with no recurrent tumour, successful rehabilitation of post-irradiation induced sensorineural hearing loss is possible with a cochlear implant in a patient with nasopharyngeal carcinoma.</p>