A cochlear implant (CI) is used in the auditory rehabilitation of adult and pediatric patients with sensorineural hearing loss who do not benefit from conventional hearing aids. Perioperative nursing care of the patient with sensorineural hearing loss undergoing cochlear implantation is not extensively discussed in the literature. Preoperative care involves managing the patient and family’s expectations for the procedure and determining the most effective communication techniques for each patient. Postoperative care involves monitoring patients closely and identifying the signs and symptoms of a number of possible postoperative complications, as well as knowing how to prevent these complications and respond to them. Thorough patient and family discharge instructions are vital to a successful cochlear implantation result. This article provides perioperative nurses caring for patients receiving a CI with detailed information to help ensure that they provide these patients with the most appropriate and effective care.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.