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Relationships between bilateral auditory brainstem activity and inter-implant interval in children with cochlear implants

  • Otology
  • Published:
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Abstract

Purpose

To investigate the effect of the interval between bilateral cochlear implantation on the development of bilateral peripheral auditory pathways as revealed by the electrically evoked auditory brainstem response (EABR).

Methods

Fifty-eight children with profound bilateral sensorineural hearing loss were recruited. Among them, 33 children received sequential bilateral cochlear implants (CIs), and 25 children received simultaneous bilateral CIs. The bilateral EABRs evoked by electrical stimulation from the CI electrode were recorded on the day of second-side CI activation.

Results

The latencies of wave III (eIII) and wave V (eV) were significantly shorter on the first CI side than on the second CI side in children with sequential bilateral CIs but were similar between the two sides in children with simultaneous bilateral CIs. Furthermore, the latencies were prolonged from apical to basal channels along the cochlea in the two groups. In children with sequential CIs, the inter-implant interval was negatively correlated with the eV latency on the first CI side and was positively correlated with bilateral differences in the eIII and eV latencies.

Conclusions

Unilateral CI use promotes the maturation of ipsilateral auditory conduction function. However, a longer inter-implant interval results in more unbalanced development of bilateral auditory brainstem pathways. Bilateral cochlear implantation with no or a short interval is recommended.

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Data availability

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

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Funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grants 82201278 and 82271180); Natural Science Foundation of Anhui Province (Grants 2208085MH231 and 2008085QH429); and the Key Research and Development Program of Anhui Province (Grant 201904a07020084).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of USTC, Division of Life Sciences and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, 230001, Anhui, China

    Yan-Lin Wu, Han-Yu Zhu, Wen-Yun Luo, Kai Shi, Xiao-Yan Hou, Jing-Wu Sun, Jia-Qiang Sun & Xiao-Tao Guo

  2. Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, The Fifth Affiliated Hospital of Zunyi Medical University, Zhuhai, 519100, Guangdong, China

    Li Chen

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  1. Yan-Lin Wu
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  2. Li Chen
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Correspondence to Jing-Wu Sun, Jia-Qiang Sun or Xiao-Tao Guo.

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All procedures performed in this study involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. The protocols and experimental procedures in the present study were reviewed and approved by the Anhui Provincial Hospital Ethics Committee (No. 2019-KY-60).

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Wu, YL., Chen, L., Zhu, HY. et al. Relationships between bilateral auditory brainstem activity and inter-implant interval in children with cochlear implants. Eur Arch Otorhinolaryngol 281, 1735–1743 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00405-023-08285-2

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