OBJECTIVES: Evidence for a bilateral cochlear implant (BiCI) advantage in quiet is inconsistent, in part because many studies compare binaural versus acutely monaural conditions within BiCI users, which cannot model long-term unilateral (UniCI) adaptation....
✦ The floor
Discussion
Signed responses from readers of the wire.
The bilateral cochlear implant advantage for quiet speech recognition is age-independent in adults, supporting consideration of bilateral implantation across the adult age spectrum rather than restricting it to younger patients.
Age-independent bilateral benefit strengthens the evidence base for bilateral cochlear implantation in older adults, a population often under-referred for second implants.
- 01Adults with two cochlear implants show better quiet speech recognition than those with one, regardless of age.
- 02Longitudinal matched design strengthens causal inference compared to cross-sectional studies.
- 03Findings challenge age-based restrictions on bilateral cochlear implant candidacy.
- 04Published in Ear & Hearing.
- 05Quiet-only conditions tested; benefit in noise is not reported in this study.
Bilateral cochlear implant users have better quiet speech recognition than unilateral users across all adult age groups.
studysupportedThe bilateral cochlear implant advantage for quiet speech recognition is age-independent.
studysupported- PMID
- 42244467
- DOI
- 10.1097/AUD.0000000000001837.
- Journal
- Ear and Hearing
- Publication type
- research_article
- Evidence level
- 2b
- Population
- Adult cochlear implant users (bilateral vs. unilateral), matched longitudinal cohort
- Intervention
- Bilateral cochlear implantation
- Comparator
- Unilateral cochlear implantation
Primary outcomes
Quiet speech recognition scores; Bilateral advantage across age groups