Long-term maintenance costs incurred by the families of pediatric cochlear implant recipients in Malaysia.

INTRODUCTION

Cochlear implant (CI) requires lifelong financial commitments to ensure that the devices always operate optimally.

OBJECTIVE

We estimated the long-term maintenance costs of CI including repair of speech processors, replacement of damaged parts, and battery requirements.

RESULTS

Forty-one parents of children who received CIs in Malaysian government hospitals were enrolled. The first 2 years of CI usage were covered by warranty. The cost increased three-fold from by 4 years of CI usage and then doubled by 8 years of usage. About 75% of parents commented that the costs were burdensome.

CONCLUSION

Our findings will be useful for parents whose children receive CI and will allow medical personnel to counsel the parents about the costs.