Audiometric and Patient‐Reported Outcomes in Single‐Sided Deafness Cochlear Implant Recipients Using the CIQOL‐35

Abstract

AbstractObjectiveDescribe the effect that cochlear implantation (CI) has on audiometric outcomes and quality of life (QOL) in patients with single‐sided deafness (SSD).Study DesignRetrospective case review.SettingTertiary university hospital system.MethodsPreoperative and postoperative AzBio performance and Cochlear Implant Quality of Life‐35 (CIQOL‐35) Profile scores in CI patients with SSD were compared, and postoperative measures were compared to those from CI patients without SSD.ResultsSeventeen patients with unilateral CI and contralateral unaided pure‐tone averages ≤30 dB were included. The median age was 60.2 (interquartile range [IQR], 50.9‐64.9 years), and 7/17 (41%) were women. Median daily use was 8.2 hour (IQR, 5.4‐11.9 h). The median preoperative AzBio quiet score in the ear to be implanted was 3% (IQR, 0%‐6%). After a median follow‐up of 12.0 months, the median postoperative AzBio quiet score was 76% (IQR, 47%‐86%) (p < .01). SSD subjects demonstrated statistically significant improvements in median scores on the following CIQOL‐35 subdomains following implantation: Entertainment (17 preoperatively vs 21 postoperatively), Listening Effort (12 vs 14), Social (17 vs 22), and Global (28 vs 35; p < .05). SSD patients achieved equal or higher postoperative CIQOL‐35 scores in most subdomains (6/7) compared to an age‐matched group of non‐SSD CI recipients who underwent unilaterally (N = 19) or sequential (N = 6) implantation.ConclusionSSD CI patients not only demonstrate significant improvements in speech perception testing in the implanted ear but also exhibit improvement in multiple QOL subdomains on the CIQOL‐35, the only validated cochlear implant QOL instrument.