Thermal Characteristics of Different Types of Cochlear Implants in Pediatric Cochlear Implant Users: A Comparative Digital-Infrared Thermal Imaging Analysis

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to evaluate thermal characteristics of different types of pediatric cochlear implants METHODS: A total of 39 pediatric patients using Med-El (Synchrony®), Cochlear (Nucleus®), or Advanced Bionics (HiRes 90K®) type of cochlear implants were included. A digital infrared thermal imaging analysis was performed to measure the heating over the implant and the tissue heating of the skin below and around the device, while skin thickness and visual analog scale scores were also recorded. RESULTS: Over the implant, heating values were significantly higher in the on-mode vs. off-mode of device for each type of implant (P ranged from <.05 to <.001). The implants groups were similar in terms of skin thickness, visual analog scale scores, on-mode values for heating over the implant, and the heating of the skin (below or around the device; <36°C for each), while the off-mode values for heating over the implant were significantly higher in the Med-El (Synchrony®) implants compared to other implants (median 31.75 vs. 31.30 and 30.20°C, P = .001). Skin thickness was negatively correlated with the heating over the implant (off-mode, r = −0.708, P < .001) and heating of the skin (around the device, r = −0.479, P = .028) in Advanced Bionics (HiRes 90K®) implants. CONCLUSION: Our findings emphasize that there is no hazard or discomfort from a cochlear implant in terms of heating of skin and no significant difference between 3 implant types in terms of skin thickness or tissue heating, whereas indicate the increased likelihood of thermal characteristics of implant to differ with respect to skin thickness in Advanced Bionics (HiRes 90K®) users.