RESULTS OF BILATERAL COCHLEAR IMPLANTS IN CHILDREN AND ADULTS: LITERATURE REVIEW

Abstract

Although the unilateral cochlear implant provides the ability to understand speech in quiet situations, the bilateral cochlear implant has been considered in order to provide for the patient the benefits of binaural hearing. Leading research groups in this area recommend the indication of bilateral cochlear implant in certain cases. The objective of this study is to present a literature review of scientific studies that address the results of bilateral cochlear implant. A pre-determined search strategy was used to search electronic databases LILACS, Medline and SciELO and the review included studies published between 2008 and January 2012. Although the level of evidence was low, sound localization and speech recognition in silence and noise appear to be improved with bilateral compared to unilateral cochlear implant, in adults and children, independent of time between implant surgeries and the age of the patient. The children who receive the second implant at a younger age and shorter intervals between surgeries seem to get superior benefit. In the post-lingual cases, the time between implant surgeries is not a relevant aspect.