Pediatric Cochlear Implant Outcomes in Auditory Neuropathy, Cochlear Nerve Deficiency, and Sensorineural Hearing Loss: An 8-Year Longitudinal Study

OBJECTIVES: Cochlear implants (CIs) have transformed the management of children with significant hearing loss; however, outcomes vary considerably across different etiologies. This longitudinal study aimed to compare CI outcomes in children with sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL), auditory neuropathy spectrum disorder (ANSD), and cochlear nerve deficiency (CND).

Audiologists and implant teams should counsel families that children with cochlear nerve deficiency have significantly poorer long-term cochlear implant outcomes than those with auditory neuropathy or sensorineural hearing loss; pre-implant MRI/CT nerve assessment is critical for prognosis and realistic expectation-setting.

Long-term longitudinal data comparing outcomes across distinct pediatric CI etiologies informs candidate selection criteria, pre-surgical counseling, and post-implant rehabilitation planning.

1. 018-year longitudinal follow-up provides rare long-term outcome data for pediatric cochlear implant recipients.
2. 02Three etiological groups compared: auditory neuropathy spectrum disorder (ANSD), cochlear nerve deficiency (CND), and sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL).
3. 03CND patients generally show inferior speech perception outcomes relative to ANSD and SNHL groups.
4. 04Results underscore the importance of pre-implant imaging to differentiate nerve anatomy.
5. 05Findings support etiology-specific counseling and post-implant rehabilitation intensity planning.

PMID

42260698

DOI

10.1097/AUD.0000000000001859.

Journal

Ear and Hearing

Publication type

research_article

Evidence level

2b

Population

Pediatric cochlear implant recipients with auditory neuropathy spectrum disorder, cochlear nerve deficiency, or sensorineural hearing loss

Intervention

Cochlear implantation

Comparator

Cross-etiology comparison (ANSD vs. CND vs. SNHL)