Parental perspectives on decision-making and outcomes in pediatric bilateral cochlear implantation

Abstract

Overall, parents were satisfied with the second implant and identified benefits that are not easily quantifiable through traditional clinical measures.

Longer-Term Functional Outcomes and Everyday Listening Performance for Young Children Through to Young Adults Using Bilateral Implants

“…In one study, a fairly high proportion (76%) of children bilaterally implanted between 2 and 8 years of age demonstrated improved localization in the first 24 months postoperation (Sparreboom et al 2012). Results were variable for slightly older (implanted before 12 years of age) and less experienced (average 18 months) groups, with 55% improving (Scherf et al 2009a) versus the "majority" of 15 children being unable to localize (Fitzpatrick et al 2011). It is interesting to note that despite their older age at bilateral implantation, 68% of adolescents reported improved localization (Redfern & McKinley 2011).…”

“…The relatively small amount of information in the literature regarding adaptation to BiCIs indicates that it is easy for the majority; however, the process varies across individuals and is not always straightforward. Although not a main focus, three of the abovementioned reports included general comments about adaptation, such as: "a few" of 15 children bilaterally implanted under 11 years of age had early difficulties adapting (Fitzpatrick 2011); some children implanted between 6 and 12 years of age "took a long time to get used to CI-2" (Scherf et al 2009b); and some individuals implanted after 10 years of age took longer than others to adjust to CI-2 (Redfern & McKinley 2011). A fourth study focused specifically on hours of device usage as a measure of adaptation (Galvin & Hughes 2012).…”

“…There are five such studies in the literature, reporting information about four groups of 15 to 36 CI users, almost all of whom were sequentially implanted. Three groups included only children under 12 years of age and information was collected from their parents (Scherf et al 2009a,b;Fitzpatrick et al 2011;Sparreboom et al 2012) while the fourth included only adolescents, from whom self-reports were collected (Redfern & McKinley 2011). A sixth study involving younger children was significantly more limited in focus, but did include significantly more simultaneously implanted children (Galvin & Hughes 2012).…”

“…Negative experiences reported by parents at 18 months after bilateral implantation included 10% of children "disliking having to wear CI-2" (Scherf et al 2009a). On the positive side, "more than half " of 15 parents reported that their child had no preferred CI and that listening performance was equivalent with each CI (Fitzpatrick et al 2011).…”

“…Localization is a key area of expected benefit from BiCIs (Fitzpatrick et al 2011;Sparreboom et al 2012). In one study, a fairly high proportion (76%) of children bilaterally implanted between 2 and 8 years of age demonstrated improved localization in the first 24 months postoperation (Sparreboom et al 2012).…”