A Systematic Review of the Clinical Effectiveness of Cochlear Implant Surgery in Pediatric and Adult Patients

Abstract

Hearing loss, also termed as hearing impairment, is an ailment where hearing is impaired partially or fully. About one in eight people suffer from hearing loss worldwide. The main aim of this current systematic review was to analyze the clinical effectiveness of cochlear implant (CI) surgery in pediatric and adult patients. The current study was carried out as a systematic review, following the PRISMA guidelines. We systematically searched PubMed, MEDLINE, EMBASE, and Google Scholar databases to identify eligible articles on the clinical effectiveness of CI surgery with the appropriate key terms (MeSH). This review included 73 studies which met the inclusion criteria. The studies included in unilateral CI in adults showed significant improvement in terms of perceptive abilities. Bilateral CI studies with respect to unilateral CI provide benefits in hearing in quiet conditions and sound localization. In the performance of post CI outcomes in patients, the age is not a determinant factor. CI is an effective aid in communication and speech perception for a majority of people with mild to severe hearing loss. Further studies are needed with large databases, patient registries for long term follow up details, higher quality reporting, and longer duration to develop stronger evidence.