Hearing Aid use before Cochlear Implantation-Is it Mandatory?

Background Patients having severe to profound sensory neural hearing loss can be potentially benefitted by Cochlear Implant. Using Hearing Aid pre-operatively in such patients sensitizes vestibulo-cochlear nerve & Auditory & Language areas in the brain. Objective Objective of the study was to evaluate role of using Hearing Aid pre-operatively in patients who are going to be operated for Cochlear Implant. Method The study was conducted in Department of ENT, Civil Hospital, Ahmedabad from June 2014 to June 2015. We studied & evaluated Hearing & Speech Abilities following cochlear implant in 30 patients of age group 1-7 years who used Hearing Aid pre-operatively for duration of at least 6 months. Control group was 30 children of 1-7 year of age who did not use hearing aid pre-operatively. All the subjects underwent Auditory Verbal Training by certified Speech & Language Pathologist and the benefits were evaluated on Categories of Auditory Performance Scale & Speech Intelligibility Rating Scale. Result Patients in case group showed significantly better score on Category of Auditory Performance Scale & Speech Intelligibility Scale within same time frame which was taken as 3 months, 6 months, 9 months & 12 months duration. However parental motivation & home training were also important. Conclusion Using hearing aid pre-operatively in patients with cochlear implant confirms better Hearing & Speech Abilities compared to patients who did not use Hearing aid pre-operatively. So use of Hearing Aid should be offered pre-operatively to the patients who are going to be operated for Cochlear Implant.