Hearing preservation and speech perception outcomes with electric-acoustic stimulation after 12 months of listening experience

Abstract

Objectives/hypothesis: To report on single-center data of an FDA-approved clinical trial on the objective benefits of cochlear implantation and subsequent ipsilateral Electric-Acoustic Stimulation (EAS).

Study design: Single-center data from a prospective, multicenter clinical trial.

Methods: Eighteen subjects completed the 12-month EAS evaluation and were included in this evaluation. Each patient underwent cochlear implantation using a standardized hearing preservation approach. Both hearing preservation and speech perception abilities were evaluated at various intervals. Speech testing included performance measures obtained in quiet (CNC words) and noise (adaptive CUNY protocol) in three listening conditions: hearing aid (HA) alone, cochlear implant (CI) only, and combined ipsilateral EAS.

Results: Various levels of hearing preservation were achieved with cochleostomy and round-window surgical approaches in 17 of the 18 subjects. Mean CNC word scores at the 12-month interval were 14.9 ± 12.1, 45.3 ± 15.4, and 70.7 ± 11.7% correct in the HA only, CI only, and EAS conditions, respectively. Average CUNY scores at 0 dB SNR were 14.6 ± 17.2, 47.1 ± 22.1, and 72.2 ± 21.5 for the three test conditions obtained after 12 months.

Conclusions: Data obtained during this clinical trial correlate well with previous reports. Hearing preservation appears successful in a high number of subjects, and combined EAS offers excellent speech perception abilities in quiet and in noise.

Level of evidence: 4.

Keywords: Cochlear implant; electric-acoustic stimulation; hearing preservation; outcomes.