Cochlear Implantation In Prelingually Deafened Adolescents: Evaluation In Hearing And Quality Of Life

Objective To evaluate the hearing,family and individual quality of life for the prelingually deafened adolescents with cochlear implants and compare the influence of preoperative communication mode on postoperative rehabilitation using the Categories of Auditory Performance(CAP),Children using hearing implants Quality of Life(Cu HI Qol)and Nijmegen Cochlear Implant Questionnaire(NCIQ)Methods 41 patients aged from fourteen to eighteen years old who accepted cochlear implantation at the First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University from 2010.07 to 2014.07 were enrolled in the research and some patients with severe inner ear deformities,cerebral white matter lesions and auditory neuropathy were excluded.A retrospective study was conducted in 41 prelingually profoundly deaf adolescents who were divided into nonverbal group(gesture and lip?reading)and oral group(oral communication and lip reading?oral language)according to preoperative communication modes,including 20 cases of nonverbal group and 21 cases of oral group.Questionnaires were taken by the parents before and after the cochlear implantation respectively using CAP and Cu HI Qol questionnaire while NCIQ scale was used to investigate the patients themselves after cochlear implantation.The differences between the preoperative and postoperative CAP scores were compared and the postoperative Cu HI Qol and NCIQ scores were collected and compared statistically between the two groups respectively.Results1.CAP scores in oral group and nonverbal group were significantly higher than those before operation(p <0.001)2.The postoperative scores of Cu HI Qol(51.71 ± 8.9)in 21 patients who completed the Cu HI Qol questionnaire were significantly higher than those before operation(42.14 ± 6.04,P <0.001),but also the postoperative scores of three subscales including parental expectation,family impact and personal quality of life were significantly higher than those before surgery(p = 0.002,P <0.001,P <0.001).As to the postoperative Cu HI Qol scores,significant difference wasn't observed in family influence(p = 0.7)between the two groups while the scores of oral group were significantly higher than nonverbal group in parents' expectation and quality of life(P = 0.005,p <0.001)3.The mean NCIQ score of oral group was 51.04 ± 10.51,which was significantly higher than that in nonverbal group(31.54 ± 5.55,p <0.001).The NCIQ scores of oral group were significantly higher than nonverbal group(P<0.05)in the following subdomains : advanced sound perception,speech production,social interactions and there is no statistical difference(p>0.05)in the subdomains of basic sound perception,self?esteem and activities.Conclusion The hearing and quality of life of prelingually deafened adolescents with cochlear implants can be improved obviously and patients with oral communication mode before operation have better quality of life.