Simultaneous Bilateral Cochlear Implantation in Adults

Abstract

The objective of this study is to review our experience with simultaneous bilateral cochlear implantation (BiCI) in adults, and assess its feasibility. This could shorten the time required to regain binaural hearing, prevent social isolation, and potentially eliminate the need for hearing aids, as seen with sequential BiCI. A retrospective study was conducted involving adult patients who received simultaneous BiCI at our center between 2010 and 2023. The feasibility of simultaneous BiCI was assessed through postoperative clinical evaluations, outpatient visits, discharge status, and the acceptance of device fitting. Twenty-seven patients underwent simultaneous BiCIs. Their mean age was 37 years, comprising 59.3% males and 40.7% females. Out of the included patients, 51.9% had childhood-onset hearing loss, while 29.6% developed hearing loss later in life. Causes of hearing loss included meningitis 7.4%, trauma 11.1%, non-specific high-grade fever 11.1%, and Brucellosis infection 3.7%. Labyrinthine ossificans (LO) was present in 7.4%, and retrofenestral otospongiosis in 3.7%. The post-operative period and initial outpatient visit were uneventful for 88.8% and 81.5% of patients, respectively. Intraoperative complications were absent in 96.2% of cases. Simultaneous BiCI is feasible in adults without major intraoperative complications or troublesome recovery periods, offering potential benefits by reducing the number of surgeries and hospital admissions compared to the sequential method.

Incidence of Cochlear Implantation Complications in Saudi Arabia: A Comprehensive Systematic Review of the Literature

“…A total of 119 patients (5.14%) had non-specific complications that were not mentioned by the authors of the included studies. The total rate of complications was 4-13%, with a lower rate of complications (4%) reported by Aldhafeeri et al [ 16 ], and the highest rate of complications (33.3%) reported by Fatani et al [ 6 ]. We excluded the case reports reported by Hajr et al [ 7 ] and AlHelali et al [ 19 ], in which one patient had a 100% rate of complications.…”

“…Of the included studies, 10 were retrospective [5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14], one was a cross-sectional study [15], three were case series [16][17][18], and three were case reports [19][20][21]. All studies were conducted in Saudi Arabia.…”