Cochlear implant outcomes and quality of life in the elderly: Manchester experience over 13 years.

OBJECTIVES

To objectively evaluate the clinical and functional outcomes of cochlear implantation in an elderly population.

DESIGN

Retrospective comparative study.

SETTING

Neurotology unit at Manchester Royal Infirmary, a supraregional tertiary referral centre in collaboration with Adult Cochlear Implant Programme at The University of Manchester.

PARTICIPANTS

All cochlear implant procedures (38) undertaken on post-lingually deafened elderly patients (age range at the time of implantation 65-80 years, n = 34) in the period from 1989 to 2002.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Medical and surgical outcomes. Audiological performance outcomes for isolated words, words in sentences in quiet and noise. Functional outcome measures used are self-reported measures of the social, psychological and emotional aspects of quality of life, and the differences between expectations for functional outcomes and the realization of functional outcomes. They included expectation profiles, Glasgow Benefit inventory (GBI) and Glasgow Health Status Inventory Questionnaire (GHSI).

RESULTS

There was statistically significant improvement post-implantation of both open and closed set test scores (P < 0.01). Eighty-two percentage of patients were completely satisfied with their cochlear implants. Patients judged that implantation restored half the loss of quality of life that they had experienced as a result of severe-profound deafness with a highly significant (P < 0.001) improvement in overall quality of life after implantation. The commonest post-operative observation was transient mild pyrexia.

CONCLUSIONS

The age of a cochlear implant candidate should not be a factor in the candidacy decision-making process. The quality of life of our elderly recipients was significantly improved after cochlear implant.