Chung‑Ching Lina,b, Ting Chiua, Hong‑Ping Chioua, Chu‑Man Changa, Chuan‑Jen Hsua,b, Hung-Pin Wua,b*
aDepartment of Otolaryngology, Taichung Tzu Chi Hospital, Buddhist Tzu Chi Medical Foundation, Taichung, Taiwan, bSchool of Medicine, Tzu Chi University, Hualien, Taiwan
Open Access funded by Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu Chi Foundation
Abstract
Cochlear implantation (CI) has developed for more than four decades. Initially, CI was used for profound bilateral hearing impairment. However, the indications for CI have expanded in recent years to include children with symptomatic partial deafness. Therefore, CI strategies to preserve residual hearing are important for both patients and otologists. The loss of residual low‑frequency hearing is thought to be the result of many factors. All surgical methods have the same goal: protect the delicate intracochlear structures and preserve residual low‑frequency hearing to improve speech perception abilities. Fully opening the round window membrane, a straight electrode array, slower insertion speed, and the use of corticosteroids result in a higher rate of hearing preservation. Several factors, like the way of surgical approaches, length of arrays and timing of activation, may not affect the residual hearing preservation. Therefore, the classic atraumatic technique, including the very slow and delicate insertion and administration of intraoperative corticosteroids, can improve hearing outcomes.
Keywords: Cochlear implantation, Electrode selection, Hearing preservation, Pharmacological therapy, Surgical technique
