Ocular findings in pediatric candidates for cochlear implantation with bilateral sensorineural hearing loss: a brief report from northwestern Iran.

Abstract

Background: The presence of ocular abnormalities in patients with sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) may affect children's developmental milestones due to impairment of primary sensory inputs. This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of different ophthalmologic abnormalities in pediatric patients with bilateral SNHL who were candidates for cochlear implantation (CI).

Methods: We performed a retrospective medical chart review of 261 pediatric patients under 13 years of age with bilateral SNHL who were candidates for CI and were evaluated at a tertiary cochlear implantation referral center in northwestern Iran between March 21, 2017, and June 20, 2025. Ophthalmologic findings were assessed as the main outcome measures.

Results: The overall prevalence of ocular findings was 19.5%. Cardiac abnormalities were observed in 17.6% of patients, and refractive errors were identified in 8.4%. Jaundice was the most common prenatal complication, and 36.8% of patients had a history of neurologic complications. Ocular, cardiologic, and neurologic manifestations occurred independently of one another, with no significant pairwise co-occurrence among the three systems.

Conclusions: Our findings highlight the need for a multidisciplinary approach in candidates for CI with bilateral SNHL. Comprehensive ophthalmologic evaluation is essential in this population, with particular attention to refractive errors, ocular alignment, and fundus assessment. Because ocular, cardiologic, and neurologic findings occurred independently in the exploratory analysis, screening for each system should be pursued comprehensively and in parallel rather than selectively guided by findings in another system.

Trial registration: Not applicable.