Cochlear Implant Outcomes in the Chinese-Speaking Adult Population: A Systematic Review.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study is to perform a systematic review of speech perception outcomes in the Chinese-speaking adult cochlear implant (CI) population. DATABASES REVIEWED: PubMed, EMbase, and Scopus. METHODS: A comprehensive English literature search was performed with MeSH search terms, keywords, and phrases. Literature written in a language other than English was not included. Full-text articles were screened by two blinded reviewers and adjudicated by a third. Relevant outcomes and demographic data were extracted. Qualitative summaries were performed of the demographics and assessment tools. Speech perception outcomes were assessed with quantitative measures. RESULTS: Forty-four studies (n = 467) notable for marked heterogeneity in speech perception assessment utilized and reporting of relevant patient demographics were included. Mean duration of deafness among studies reporting this metric was 10.27 years (range, 0.08-49; SD, 7.70; n = 250), with 80% of subjects reporting >5 years' duration of deafness and only 19 subjects (7.6%) with <1 year of deafness preimplantation. A summary of the most commonly used assessments is provided. CONCLUSION: Within the English-language literature, there is marked heterogeneity and lack of standardization regarding speech perception outcomes, tests utilized, and reported patient demographics in the Chinese-speaking adult CI population. Most Chinese-speaking CI users for whom data were available had prolonged duration of deafness before implantation. This study may serve as an initial reference for providers counseling Chinese-language CI candidates and who may be interested in adopting these tests, while highlighting the need for continued efforts to measure speech perception outcomes after CI for tonal language speakers.

Predictive Ability of First-Side Cochlear Implant Performance in Adult Sequential Bilateral Cochlear Implantation.

OBJECTIVE: Predictors of second-side cochlear implant performance have not been well studied. We sought to assess whether speech recognition scores from first-side cochlear implant (CI1) could predict second-side cochlear implant (CI2) scores in sequential bilaterally implanted adults. STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective review using a prospectively collected database. SETTING: Academic tertiary care hospital. PATIENTS: Fifty-seven adults with postimplantation speech recognition testing performed at least 12 months after CI2. INTERVENTION: Sequential bilateral CI. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: CI2 performance at ≥12 months as measured using consonant-nucleus-consonant (CNC) words and AzBio sentences in quiet and +10 dB signal-to-noise ratio (S/N). RESULTS: CI1 performance scores at ≥12 months were independently associated with CI2 performance scores at ≥12 months for CNC words (ß = 0.371 [0.136-0.606], p = 0.003), AzBio sentences in quiet (ß = 0.614 [0.429-0.80], p < 0.0001), and AzBio +10 dB S/N (ß = 0.712 [0.459-0.964], p < 0.0001). CI1 scores on AzBio in quiet at 0 to 6 months were also independently associated with CI2 AzBio in quiet scores at ≥12 months (ß = 0.389 [0.004-0.774], p = 0.048). Hearing loss etiology and duration, age at implantation, interval between CI1 and CI2, duration of hearing aid use, and preimplantation speech recognition testing scores were not consistently associated with CI2 scores at ≥12 months. CONCLUSIONS: CI1 performance is an independent predictor of second-side performance as measured ≥12 months postimplantation. This may be a clinically useful metric when considering adult sequential bilateral implantation.