Effects of Duration of Cochlear Implantation on Hearing and Speech Abilities in Hearing-Impaired Patients

YING Jun; LU Wei; TIAN Chenghua

doi:10.3969/j.issn.1672-2922.2025.03.008

Abstract：Objective To evaluate the effects of durations cochlear implantation on the auditory-verbal ability and quality of life in hearing impaired patients after cochlear implantation,with regards to developing individualized auditory-verbal rehabilitation programs and intervals of cochlear implant device replacement.Methods A total of 406 patients were randomly selected from the cochlear implant program in Zhejiang Province,with the implantation age ranging from 0 to 8 years,and an average age of 3.12±1.75 years.They were divided into 6 groups based on the time since implant switch on:<3 years(7 cases),3～5 years(34 cases),5～7 years(62 cases),7～9 years(94 cases),9～11 years(138 cases),and 11～13 years(71 cases),and evaluated using the CAP,SIR and SSQ-P.Data were collected from the patients and/or their parents.Independent samples t-test and ANOVA were used to determine the effect of duration of cochlear implantation on hearing and speech abilities.Pearson's correlation coefficient analysis was used for linear correlations between post-implantation auditory,speech and spatial hearing qualities and the duration of power-on;Multiple linear regression equations were used to explore the effects of auditory-verbal abilities scores on quality of life.Results The hearing ability and speech intelligibility scores increased with the increase of cochlear implant use time in the 1-9 years group(P<0.001),with significant improvement in speech perception and auditory quality by the SSQ-P questionnaire(P<0.001).In the 9～13 years group,auditory ability,speech intelligibility and speech spatial hearing all showed a decreasing trend along with cochlear implant use time,with speech perception affected by auditory ability and speech perception and hearing quality affected by speech function(P<0.001).Generally,replacement of the extracorporeal device after cochlear implant surgery had little effect on auditory speech ability(P>0.05).Conclusion Nine years after cochlear implant power-on is the cut-off point for hearing speech abilities,which continue to improve within this period,but show a trend of decline beyond 9 years of CI use.Auditory-verbal sensitivity has an impact on speech perception,hearing quality and quality of life.