Cochlear Implants Safe and Effective for Infants Under 9 Months Old

A recent study demonstrated cochlear implants (CIs) as a safe and effective treatment option for children aged 5 to 8 months. The key findings were published in the Otology & Neurotology Journal.

The single-center retrospective review spanned from 2011 to 2021 to assess the safety of cochlear implants in this age group and to highlight the postoperative complication rates and provide a preliminary look at efficacy. The study was conducted at a renowned tertiary referral center and involved a total of 106 children under 9 months of age who underwent cochlear implantation, with a total of 204 implants. The mean age at implantation was 6.6 months. The primary outcome focused on the 6-month postoperative complication rate and revealed that 26% of patients experienced minor complications with no reported mortalities.

A key highlight from the study was the absence of a statistically significant difference in complications by including reimplantation rates between children implanted under 9 months of age and those implanted between 9 and 18 months of age. These results underscore the safety of cochlear implantation in the younger age group.

Speech discrimination outcomes were reported to be excellent while the mean spoken language outcomes approached normative levels for typically developing children. These positive findings suggest that early intervention through cochlear implantation can contribute to optimize speech and language outcomes in infants.

The findings of the study emphasizes the importance of early hearing screening and timely referral for infants to receive this appropriate intervention. The study suggests that such proactive measures play a crucial role in ensuring the success of cochlear implantation as a viable treatment option for children as young as 5 months old.

Source:

Cottrell, J., Spitzer, E., Friedmann, D., Jethanamest, D., McMenomey, S., Thomas Roland, J., & Waltzman, S. (2023). Cochlear Implantation in Children Under 9 Months of Age: Safety and Efficacy. In Otology & Neurotology (Vol. 45, Issue 2, pp. 121–127). Ovid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health). https://doi.org/10.1097/mao.0000000000004071