Cochlear implantation in post-lingual adults: A 25-year experience at King Abdullah Ear Specialist Center, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

OBJECTIVES: To demonstrate the efficacy of cochlear implants (CI) in post-lingual adults, including surgical and auditory outcomes based on a 25-year experience at a tertiary referral hospital. METHODS: This study was a retrospective, descriptive chart review of post-lingual adults, aged ≥18 years, implanted at King Abdullah Ear Specialist Center (KAESC), Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), between September 1994 and March 2020. The study included 176 cochlear implantations performed in 144 patients. Data retrieval included patient demographics, clinical evaluation, operative details, postoperative course, and audiological evaluation parameters. The main outcome measures were surgical procedures, including techniques and complication rates, and audiological parameters as evaluated by pure tone audiometry average (PTA), speech reception threshold (SRT), and word recognition score (WRS). Student’s t-test and Chi-square tests were used for statistical analysis and a p-value<0.05 was considered significant. RESULTS: Pure tone audiometry average, SRT, and WRS improved significantly after CI. Overall, major complications occurred in 3 patients. One patient underwent CI ex-planation for severe pain, and 2 had device malfunctioning. Other minor complaints were reported in 18% of the patients. CONCLUSION: Cochlear implants performed, in our institute, on post-lingual adults resulted in significant improvements in auditory performance, including PTA, SRT, and WRS values with low complication rates.