Performance of Cochlear Implants in Pediatric Patients with Auditory Neuropathy Spectrum Disorder.

OBJECTIVE

To describe the performance and results of CIs (cochlear implant) in patients with AN (auditory neuropathy) and to present a medical literature review.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Retrospective chart review of patients with AN who were treated with CI. The mesh terms used for the review in the Pubmed and Scopus databases were as follows: "hearing loss, cochlear implants, rehabilitation of persons with hearing impairment, auditory neuropathy".

STATISTICAL ANALYSES

The Mann-Whitney test was performed.

RESULTS

The sample consisted of 10 patients. The mean age at surgery was 4.3 years, range 2-16 years. The average length of CI use was 5.2 years. The comparison of hearing levels before and after CI use showed a significant improvement in all patients, with p<0.05. All of them also reported an increase in overall satisfaction 1 year after the procedure. A CI is the standard treatment for the hearing rehabilitation of patients with severe profound hearing loss who do not benefit from conventional hearing aids. There are diseases such as AN that also invoke a discussion in the literature regarding CI benefits.

CONCLUSION

Individuals with an demonstrated a significant gain in hearing levels and language use with CI.