Objective: To evaluate effectiveness of the cochlear implant (CI) to facilitate single-sided deafness (SSD) rehabilitation following translabyrinthine resection of the vestibular schwannoma.
Study design: Retrospective patient review.
Setting: Single center, University hospital.
Patients: Patients with SSD who underwent translabyrinthine resection of a vestibular schwannoma with anatomical preservation of the cochlear nerve and subsequent CI on the same ear.
Interventions: CI at post-translabyrinthine resection of the acoustic neuroma to treat SSD, and evaluation by retrospective individual case review in a period from 2009 to 2016.
Main outcome measures: Individual patients' clinical outcome and speech understanding.
Results: Thirteen patients were provided CI. In all cases, complete removal of the tumor was achieved and the cochlear nerve was preserved; in one case, the CI was implanted simultaneously. In most cases, the follow-up interval was 2 years. In 9 of 13 cases, the implanted ear achieved capability to understand and discriminate monosyllabic words at 65 dB. Level of speech understanding of over 50% at 65 dB was possible in 7 patients at 12 months after the first fitting of CI.
Conclusions: Under certain conditions, CI was an effective solution to restore hearing in patients with SSD following translabyrinthine access to the skull base. Study with prospective design is required to provide more significant results.