Although cochlear implants (CIs) effectively restore hearing, device abandonment ('non-use') remains a critical challenge limiting long-term auditory rehabilitation. AIMS/OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence, clinical and radiological characteristics, and patient-reported reasons for CI non-use, comparing pre-lingually and post-lingually deafened individuals to inform long-term retention...
✦ The floor
Discussion
Signed responses from readers of the wire.
Audiologists and CI teams should review the behavioral and clinical profiles identified for non-users to strengthen pre-implant counseling and post-implant follow-up protocols, though the retrospective design limits causal conclusions.
Device abandonment in cochlear implantation represents a significant clinical and resource failure; a 20-year characterization of non-users provides the longest-duration evidence base yet for informing patient selection and rehabilitation strategies.
- 0120-year retrospective study characterizes clinical and behavioral profiles of cochlear implant non-users.
- 02Published in Acta Otolaryngologica (PMID 42969302).
- 03Findings may inform pre-implant counseling and patient selection criteria.
- 04Retrospective, descriptive design limits ability to establish cause-and-effect relationships.
- 05Device abandonment is an under-researched but clinically significant problem in auditory rehabilitation.
Cochlear implant non-users have identifiable clinical and behavioral profiles distinct from consistent users.
studypartially supported- PMID
- 42969302
- DOI
- 10.1080/00016489.2026.2755205.
- Journal
- Acta Otolaryngologica
- Publication type
- research_article
- Evidence level
- 4
- Population
- Cochlear implant recipients who became non-users, identified over a 20-year retrospective period
- Intervention
- Characterization of cochlear implant non-use / device abandonment
Primary outcomes
Clinical profiles of cochlear implant non-users; Behavioral profiles of cochlear implant non-users