Predicting cochlear implant performance: Impact of demographic, audiologic, surgical factors, and cochlear health

Amit Walia, Matt Shew and Craig A. Buchman from Washington University School of Medicine, explain the challenges of understanding variables or factors informing CI performance and how this can be addressed. Cochlear implants (CIs) are highly effective for restoring hearing in individuals with moderate-to-profound hearing loss who do not gain sufficient benefit from hearing aids. Despite being one of modern medicine’s most successful advancements, there is wide inter-individual variability in speech perception outcomes (Figure 1). The drivers of this variability are not well understood, making it difficult to set realistic expectations for patients before surgery and to evaluate potential interventions that may enhance performance post-operatively. Accurate prediction of speech perception performance after surgery could significantly impact how we assess candidates, plan postoperative aural rehabilitation, choose surgical techniques, design and fit electrodes, and segment the patient population in future CI clinical trials.