Rendimiento del implante coclear en pacientes mayores de 65 años

Laburpena

Patients over 65 years older have been considered bad candidates to receive a cochlear implant (CI) due to several factors: lower life expectancy, and thus less time of implant use, motor alterations that do not allow a good handling of the implant and the posibility of cognitive impairment than can limit its performance. In this study we are going to evaluate: the hearing thereshold before and after cochlear implant, language level using various tests, presence of medical problems such us tinnitus and vértigo, and changes in daily activity. Objectives: the principal objective of this research is to evaluate the performance of the CI in subjects over 65 years old that have been treated in the department of otolaringology of the Hospital Clinico Universitario San Carlos de Madrid, and use this device. Material and Methods: we studied a population of 30 subjects with bilateral sensory neuronal hearing loss postlocutive, over 65 years old at the study time, and who have been placed CI. We have reviewed this medical records in which we studied the evolution of the hearing loss, its selection as a candidate for implantation in the cochlear implant unit and the follow up of the device sitting. In this review we have collected the hearing tests (pure tone and speech) to confirm improvement in speech discrimination and modifications in life styles. Results: patients reach pure tone average of 34 dB, versus 105 dB before the procedure, in spondaic procedures they went from 0% hits without hearing aid and 30% with hearing aid to 65% with the CI. In CID sentences they went from 0% without hearing aid and 40% with hearing aid to 80% in this moment with the CI. We do not find significant difference in regard to vértigo but there are significant differences in tinnitus before and after implantation...