Comparison of Cochlear Implant Performance after Round Window Electrode Insertion Compared with Traditional Cochleostomy

Abstract

Objective To compare speech perception after undergoing round window (RW) electrode insertion with those who underwent traditional cochleostomy (C) cochlear implant (CI) surgery. Study Design Case series with chart review. Setting Academic cochlear implant center. Subjects Patients who met CI criteria with favorable intraoperative RW anatomy who underwent RW CI electrode insertion. Patients who underwent traditional C surgery were matched for age, duration of deafness, and preoperative hearing. Methods Postoperative speech performance using the consonant-nucleus-consonant (CNC) test, Northwestern University Children’s Perception of Speech (NUCHIPS), and Hearing in Noise Test (HINT) between 3 and 48 months after CI. Results A total of 84 patients underwent RW insertion between 2004 and 2011. Of these, 55 had pre- and postoperative speech perception data for analysis. Average age of implantation ranged from 2.4 to 87.3 years (mean ± SD, 42.1 ± 24.2 years) for RW patients. Average age of implantation for matched traditional C patients ranged from 2.3 to 85.6 years (mean ± SD, 43.3 ± 25.0 years). No significant differences in postoperative CI speech perception scores were noted between the RW and C groups at 12 months post-CI (RW group, 55.28% ± 23.26% vs C group, 53.19% ± 24.14%; P = .70). Conclusion Our study found that patients with favorable RW anatomy who underwent RW CI electrode insertion demonstrated comparable speech perception compared with the traditional cochleostomy insertion group.