Speech test results of unilaterally deafened cochlear implant patients with acoustic neuroma

Introduction In patients with acoustic neuroma (AN), there is a risk of damage to the auditory nerve during AN extirpation. However, an intact auditory nerve is a condition for later hearing success with a cochlear implant (CI). The study examines the question of what speech comprehension is possible after AN extirpation with auditory nerve retention.

Material and method: The patient collective (n=12) is postlingually deaf on one side. Contralateral normacusis exists. The patients were divided into group 1 (short deaf) and group 2 (long deaf). The Freiburg number and monosyllable test, the HSM sentence test at rest and in noise (10 dB S/N) are evaluated from the initial fitting to the annual date in direct coupling

Results In almost all tests, patient group 1 achieves mean values from the first fitting onwards, which remain stable overall afterwards. For example, in the monosyllable test between 42.5 %  and 53.8 % . In the sentence test (10 dB S/N) the average value rises from 15.6 %  to 32.5 % .

In patient group 2, the mean values in all tests increase slowly. In the monosyllable test, for example, from 6.3 %  to 18.3 %  and in the sentence test (10 dB S/N) from 0 %  to 8.2 % . As expected, the average values in group 1 (short deaf) are significantly higher than in group 2 (long deaf).

Conclusion A CI- treatment can be successful in patients with unilateral deafness after AN-extirpation. In the case of auditory nerve retention, the chances of success are comparable to patient groups with other causes of deafness. However, the chances of success can also vary individually, especially depending on the duration of deafness, as well as on the patient's motivation to learn, concentration and retentiveness.

Poster-PDF A-1420.pdf

Publication History

Article published online:
13 May 2021