BackgroundCochlear implantation for single-sided deafness (SSD) is the only treatment option with the potential to restore binaural hearing cues. Significant binaural benefit has been measured in adults by speech in noise and localisation tests, who receive a cochlear implant for SSD, however, little is known on the cortical changes that help provide this benefit. In the present study, detection of sound in the auditory cortex, speech testing and localisation was used to investigate the ability of a cochlear implant (CI) to restore auditory cortical latencies and improve binaural benefit in the adult SSD population. OPEN ACCESS Citation: Wedekind A, Rajan G, Van Dun B, Távora-Vieira D (2020) Restoration of cortical symmetry and binaural function: Cortical auditory evoked responses in adult cochlear implant users with single sided deafness. PLoS ONE 15(1): e0227371.
ConclusionCortical auditory evoked response latencies recorded from the CI and NHe showed no significant difference, indicating that the detection of sound in the auditory cortex occurred simultaneously, providing the cortex with auditory information for binaural hearing.