[A comparison of the long-term efficacy of cochlear implantation at early and late age].

OBJECTIVES This study aims to investigate the effects of age factor on the long-term efficacy of cochlear implantation. PATIENTS AND METHODS The electronic records of patients, who underwent cochlear implantation with the initial diagnosis of bilateral severe to profound sensorineural hearing loss in our clinic between January 2001 and December 2008, were analyzed retrospectively. The patients were divided into two groups according to their age at the time of cochlear implantation, including group 1 with the patients less than four years of age and group 2 with the patients more than four years of age. Groups were evaluated and compared for the in terms of demographic characteristics, Categories of Auditory Performance (CAP) and Speech Intelligibility Rating (SIR) at three years following surgery. RESULTS A total of 37 patients underwent cochlear implantation. Of them, 18 patients (48.6%) were operated at less than four years of age, while 19 patients (51.4%) were operated at more than four years of age. No significant difference was found between the groups in terms of sex, educational level and profession of the parents, operated side and duration of implant use. According to CAP and SIR categories, group 1 patients had statistically significantly higher level of the CAP and SIR categories (p=0.009 and p<0.001 respectively). CONCLUSION Our study results suggested that the age of cochlear implantation has significant effects on long-term hearing and speech abilities. Cochlear implantation carried out at earlier ages (<4) enhances more satisfactory results in terms of long-term efficacy.