Performance and self-perceived hearing impairment after cochlear implantation in Menière's disease

Christian Wrobel; Nicholas F Bevis; Astrid Klinge-Strahl; Nicola Strenzke; Dirk Beutner

doi:10.1002/lio2.714

Performance and self-perceived hearing impairment after cochlear implantation in Menière's disease

Laryngoscope Investig Otolaryngol. 2021 Dec 7;7(1):219-225. doi: 10.1002/lio2.714. eCollection 2022 Feb.

Authors

Christian Wrobel¹, Nicholas F Bevis¹, Astrid Klinge-Strahl¹, Nicola Strenzke¹, Dirk Beutner¹

Affiliation

¹ Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery University Medical Center Göttingen Göttingen Germany.

Abstract

Objective: Evaluation of the self-perceived hearing impairment and performance after cochlear implantation in patients with definite Menière's disease (MD).

Patients and methods: Seventeen unilaterally or bilaterally profoundly hearing-impaired patients suffering from MD who received a cochlear implantat (CI) were eligible for inclusion in this study. Their self-perceived hearing impairment using the short Speech Spatial and Qualities of Hearing Scale (SSQ12) as well as their performance in speech perception (German language Freiburger mono- and multisyllable test, Oldenburger sentence test) were compared with a best-matched control group of non-MD patients up to 24 months of follow-up.

Results: MD patients improved significantly in perception of monosyllables presented at 65 dB_SPL, from preoperatively best aided 18.2% [2.4, 34.0] to 51.7% [39.4, 63.9] 1 year after cochlear implantation (mean [95% confidence interval]). Their performance approached the matched controls with 63.2% [55.7, 70.8]. Monosyllables presented at a lower intensity of 55 dB_SPL revealed a significant underperformance of the MD patients (21.1% [12.6, 29.6]) in contrast to the non-MD controls (39.1% [30.9, 47.4]) 12 months post-CI. Self-assessed hearing disability was significantly more pronounced in MD patients with a mean total SSQ12 score of 3.6 [2.4, 4.9] in comparison to 6.1 [5.4, 6.8] of the matched non-MD controls after 12 months of cochlear implantation.

Conclusion: Cochlear implantation substantially improves hearing capabilities in profoundly hearing-impaired patients with MD, but they tend to underperform in comparison to non-MD patients at least at lower sound pressure levels. This is likely one reason for the poorer self-assessed hearing function of cochlear implanted MD patients.

Level of evidence: 3, retrospective, nonrandomized follow-up study.

Keywords: Menière's disease; SSQ12; cochlear implant; deafness; hearing impairment; hearing loss; hearing outcome; speech recognition.