Peer-reviewed studies, patient cases, and clinical guidelines — curated bi-monthly for hearing implant specialists.
Adults implanted sequentially showed statistically significant improvements in spatial hearing, localization accuracy, and speech-in-noise performance versus unilateral recipients. Effect sizes peaked at 24 months and were sustained through the full 60-month follow-up.
Ear and Hearing · March 2026
Read full study →A 68-year-old postlingually deafened male implanted bilaterally achieves speech recognition scores rising from 12% to 74% open-set at 18 months post-activation. Documents candidacy evaluation, surgical approach, and mapping timeline alongside intensive aural rehabilitation protocol.
A child implanted at 10 months reaches age-appropriate spoken language milestones by age 4, with detailed documentation of family counseling, device selection rationale, and early intervention program design.
A 45-year-old with SSD and severe tinnitus undergoes unilateral CI following failed CROS trial. Case documents pre-operative counseling, tinnitus assessment protocol, and significant THI score reduction at 12 months post-activation.
Adults implanted sequentially showed statistically significant improvements in spatial hearing, localization accuracy, and speech-in-noise performance versus unilateral recipients. Effect sizes were largest at 24 months, with gains sustained through the full 60-month follow-up period — providing the strongest longitudinal evidence yet for bilateral access in this population.
Full cochlear coverage correlated with significantly better open-set sentence recognition at 12 months in children implanted under age 3.
fMRI data reveal cortical reorganization patterns in late-implanted adults differ from congenitally deaf recipients, with direct implications for rehabilitation protocol design.
Patients implanted under expanded audiometric criteria achieved outcomes comparable to traditional candidates, supporting broader adoption of updated eligibility thresholds.
A neural network trained on 1,200 recipient maps predicted optimal T- and C-levels with 91% agreement versus experienced audiologists, reducing mean fitting time by 38 minutes.
New joint guidance revises audiometric thresholds and introduces a functional listening performance criterion, replacing the pure-tone-average-only eligibility standards used since 2013.
Updated framework addresses payer coverage disparities for simultaneous versus sequential bilateral implantation, equipping advocates with clinical and economic evidence for payer negotiations.
Consensus recommendations cover aural rehabilitation intensity, remote programming cadence, and outcome measurement tools across the first 24 months post-activation, with pediatric and adult tracks.
Clinicians share practical guidance on identifying candidates under updated thresholds and navigating the patient counseling conversation around expectations.
New data reveal a threefold difference in implantation rates between states, driven by Medicaid coverage variability and specialist availability.
A synthesis of 12 studies published since 2022 confirms implantation before 12 months consistently outperforms later timing across spoken language, reading readiness, and quality-of-life measures.
A 47-case series documents intraoperative decision-making and outcomes for ossified, malformed, and narrow cochleae, offering a practical algorithm for surgical teams.
Analysis across 3 centers shows no long-term hearing preservation advantage for hybrid over full-insertion approaches when low-frequency thresholds fall below 70 dB HL at implantation.
Peer-reviewed studies, patient cases, and clinical guidelines — curated bi-monthly for hearing implant specialists.
PTA > 70 dB HL bilaterally, when hearing aids no longer provide sufficient speech understanding benefit in quiet or noise.
HINT or AzBio sentence scores < 50% in the best-aided condition, demonstrating functional communication limitation despite optimised amplification.
Evidence strongly supports implantation before 12 months to maximise spoken language development and school-readiness outcomes in prelingually deafened children.
Adults who previously had normal hearing adapt more rapidly post-implantation due to established auditory memory pathways — making early intervention critical.
Cochlear implantation is increasingly indicated for SSD, particularly when accompanied by debilitating tinnitus or difficulty in challenging listening environments.
ANSD (present OAE, absent ABR) may respond well to CI when hearing aids provide insufficient speech benefit, with careful pre-surgical candidacy evaluation required.
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