Young children with single-sided deafness (SSD) experience a long-term increase in speech discrimination when having a cochlear implant, a German study shows.

Especially in children aged below 3 years and 2 months at the time of surgery, there was a substantial long-term increase in speech discrimination and subjective benefit, according to the study. But all children up to 5 years or older in the study experienced an increase in speech discrimination with a cochlear implant.

Long-term follow-up

In the study, a long-term follow-up of 3 years and 5 months showed that the earlier the child is fitted with a cochlear implant the better the increase in speech discrimination and subjective benefit.

The authors write that it is mandatory to identify children with single-sided deafness (SSD) as early as bilaterally deaf children.

About the study

The purpose of the retrospective study was to investigate the outcome and critical age of cochlear implantation in congenital single-sided deafness. The study investigated 11 children with congenital SSD who were implanted with a cochlear implant.

The study was made by researchers from the Department of Otorhinolaryngology, ENT Clinic, Medical Centre, University of Freiburg in Germany.

The study, “Long‑term results of cochlear implantation in children with congenital single‑sided deafness”, was published in the journal European Archives of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology.

Sources: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/ and the journal European Archives of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology.