Journal Reviews
Quality of life after cochlear implantation in the older population
Cochlear implants (CI) have been increasingly adopted in older adults with severe to profound hearing loss as a result of the growing and ageing world population. There is much interest in the cost-effectiveness and quality of life in CI users....
Recording of electrode voltages (REVS) to determine extra-cochlear electrodes
Determining whether electrodes are sitting within the cochlea can be difficult as the checks run by the programming software cannot always determine this. In some cases, patients may be unable to give the audiologist detailed feedback which can complicate the...
Effect of stimulation levels on speech recognition and auditory threshold performance
When programming a Cochlear® device, two measurements are normally assessed. T levels relate to the quietest sound the CI user can hear i.e. thresholds, and C levels are comfortable levels which are tolerable for the CI user. If these levels...
Cobalt hip implants and auditory-vestibular outcome
Cobalt-chromium (Co-Cr), metal-to-metal hip implants were commonly used until several side-effects were reported due to an increased level of Co and Cr metal ions in patients’ blood. Although this type of hip replacement was almost completely abandoned, there are still...
Early cochlear implant activation and its effects on the cochlea
In this article, Alhabib et al consider the changes to electrode impedance with early device activation (day one) compared to conventional activation (day 30). Activation at day 30 is a cautious approach, which has been popular for many years. However,...
Satisfaction levels in elderly patients with cochlear implants
Hearing rehabilitation in the elderly is of utmost importance as it is associated with depression and dementia in this age group. Cochlear implantation is indicated for hearing-impaired individuals who do not derive adequate benefit from conventional hearing aids. In this...
Hidden disabilities and cochlear implantation under 12 months of age
There has been a global shift to providing children with severe-profound deafness cochlear implants (CIs) before they are 12 months old. Early intervention is critical and one of the overriding factors in successful outcomes for children with CIs. Early implantation...
Quality of life in adolescence
Adolescence can be a difficult time and the added complexity of a hearing loss can exacerbate feelings during this period. In the literature, there are mixed findings that show while some children with hearing loss score poorly on some aspects...
Dead regions in patients with cochlear implants
The very nature of a dead region (DR) in a cochlea means that they are often found in patients who are eligible for cochlear implants. However, a variety of different hearing configurations are found in those with DRs because of...
Cochlear implant use in young children
There are clear and well-established links between those identified and fitted with amplification early and good spoken language outcomes, but how much does the time an appropriately fitted hearing instrument is used each day contribute to this? During the first...
Cochlear implants in single sided deafness
Whilst the benefit of a second cochlear implant in people with bilateral deafness is well established, the benefits of implantation for single sided deafness with normal contralateral hearing have been much more modest. The reasons for this are varied, in...
Learning from reimplantation
The Irish implant centre in Dublin undertook a retrospective study of their reimplantation cases to look at what lessons could be learnt. Device failures fall into two classes: hard and soft failures. Hard failures are implant malfunction or altered performance....
