Outcomes of Cochlear Implantation in Age Subgroups of Veterans Over 50 Years Old

Abstract

Objective: This study aimed to determine whether there was a difference in postoperative Arizona Biomedical (AzBio) speech recognition scores in 2 differently aged subgroups of veterans 50 years and older after cochlear implantation (CI). Study Design: Retrospective chart review. Setting: Tertiary referral center. Patients: Seventy-one patients aged 50 to 74 years (younger cohort) were compared with 56 patients aged 75 years and older (older cohort) at the time of CI. Intervention(s): Patients underwent therapeutic CI. Main Outcome Measure(s): Comparison of AzBio speech recognition test scores in a quiet environment between the 2 differently aged cohorts of veterans 50 years and older. Results: Despite no significant differences in preoperative AzBio score between the younger (mean 22.2%) and older cohorts (mean, 17.3%; P > 0.05), when examining the 6- and 12-month postoperative time points, the older cohort had significantly lower mean AzBio scores (50%, 55.8%; P < 0.05) than the younger cohort (69.8%, 71.9%; P < 0.05). Conclusions: All patients aged >50 years experienced significant improvement in speech recognition scores following CI, although the cohort of ages 50 to 74 years scored significantly higher in later follow-up visits. These findings suggest that CI should be offered to appropriate candidates, regardless of age, although earlier intervention may be more advantageous.