Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

The impact of etiology and duration of deafness on speech perception outcomes in SSD patients

  • Otology
  • Published:
European Archives of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Objective

To investigate a cohort of adult single-sided deafness (SSD) patients who received a cochlear implant and to determine the impact of underlying causes of etiology and duration of deafness on outcome

Study design

Retrospective data analysis

Setting

Tertiary referral centre with a large cochlear implant program

Subjects and methods

A demographic description of 55 adult patients implanted between 2009 and 2016. The best available speech perception score in every patient using the Freiburg Numbers, Freiburg Monosyllables and the Hochmair-Schulz-Moser (HSM) sentence test measured at the 1-, 3-, 6- and 12-month intervals, and the yearly follow-up appointments were examined. A multivariate regression analysis was conducted on the variables speech test, duration of deafness and etiology. Patients were split into four groups according to their duration of deafness (shorter duration of 10 years or less versus longer duration of more than 10 years) and etiology (inflammatory disease versus other causes).

Results

The median word reception score for the Monosyllables at 65 dB SPL were 43.75% (IQR: 29.38) and 67.50% (IQR: 25.63) at 80 dB SPL at 1 year following cochlear implantation. The median percentage score correct for the HSM sentence test was 80% (IQR: 62.95). Etiology of the reviewed patient cohort revealed that most frequent causes for deafness were sudden hearing losses and inflammatory etiologies, e.g. otitis media, labyrinthitis, meningitis, cholesteatoma or mumps. The duration of deafness was not significantly associated with poor speech perception outcome. A significant correlation was found for inflammatory diseases and duration of deafness of longer than 10 years.

Conclusion

The etiology and duration of deafness are important factors for the estimated outcome in speech perception in SSD patients. Presented data reveal that an inflammatory disease leading to deafness in combination with a long duration of deafness (10 + years) lead to poorer speech perception outcomes.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Vincent C et al (2015) Identification and evaluation of cochlear implant candidates with asymmetrical hearing loss. Audiol Neurotol 20(suppl 1):87–89

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Vermeire K, Van De Heyning P (2009) Binaural hearing after cochlear implantation in subjects with unilateral sensorineural deafness and tinnitus. Audiol Neurotol 14(3):163–171

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Vermeire K, De Ridder D, Van de Heyning P, Anderson I, Nopp P, Diebl M (2014) Incapacitating unilateral tinnitus in single-sided deafness treated by cochlear implantation. Ann Otol Rhinol Laryngol 117(9):645–652

    Google Scholar 

  4. Döge J, Baumann U, Weissgerber T, Rader T (2017) Single-sided deafness: impact of cochlear implantation on speech perception in complex noise and on auditory localization accuracy. Otol Neurotol 38(10):e563–e569

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Zeitler DM, Dorman MF, Natale SJ, Loiselle L, Yost WA, Gifford RH (2015) Sound source localization and speech understanding in complex listening environments by single-sided deaf listeners after cochlear implantation. Otol Neurotol 36(9):1467–1471

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Snapp HA, Holt FD, Liu X, Rajguru SM (2017) Comparison of speech-in-noise and localization benefits in unilateral hearing loss subjects using contralateral routing of signal hearing AIDS or bone-anchored implants. Otol Neurotol 38(1):11–18

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Mertens G, Kleine Punte A, De Bodt M, Van De Heyning P (2015) “Binaural auditory outcomes in patients with postlingual profound unilateral hearing loss: 3 years after cochlear implantation,”. Audiol Neurotol 20(suppl 1):67–72

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Rahne T, Plontke SK (2016) Functional result after cochlear implantation in children and adults with single-sided deafness. Otol Neurotol 37(9):e332–e340

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Boisvert I, McMahon CM, Dowell RC, Lyxell B (2015) Long-term asymmetric hearing affects cochlear implantation outcomes differently in adults with pre- and postlingual hearing loss. PLoS ONE 10(6):1–11

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Távora-Vieira D, Boisvert I, McMahon CM, Maric V, Rajan GP (2013) Successful outcomes of cochlear implantation in long-term unilateral deafness: brain plasticity? NeuroReport 24(13):724–729

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Arndt S, Prosse S, Laszig R, Wesarg T, Aschendorff A, Hassepass F (2015) Cochlear implantation in children with single-sided deafness: does aetiology and duration of deafness matter? Audiol Neurotol 20(suppl 1):21–30

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Tavora-Vieria D, De Ceulaer G, Govaerts PJ, Rajan GP (2015) Cochlear implantation improves localization ability in patients with unilateral deafness. Ear Hear 36(3):93–98

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Shinagawa J et al (2017) Etiology of single-sided deafness and asymmetrical hearing loss. Acta Otolaryngol 137(sup565):S2–S7

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Hahlbrock K (1953) Speech audiometry and new word-tests. Arch Ohren Nasen Kehlkopfheilkd 162(5):394–431

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. Hochmair-Desoyer I, Schulz E, Moser L, Schmidt M (1997) HSM originalartikel.pdf. Am J Otol 18:83

    Google Scholar 

  16. Holden LK et al (2013) Factors affecting open-set word recognition in adults with cochlear implants. Ear Hear 34(3):342–360

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Moon IS et al (2014) Is there a deafness duration limit for cochlear implants in post-lingual deaf adults? Acta Otolaryngol 134(2):173–180

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Medina MDM et al (2017) Cochlear implantation in postlingual adult patients with long-term auditory deprivation. Otol Neurotol 38(8):e248–e252

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Cohen SM, Svirsky MA (2019) Duration of unilateral auditory deprivation is associated with reduced speech perception after cochlear implantation: a single-sided deafness study. Cochlear Implants Int 20(2):51–56

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. Helmstaedter V, Buechner A, Stolle S, Goetz F, Lenarz T, Durisin M (2018) Cochlear implantation in children with meningitis related deafness: the influence of electrode impedance and implant charge on auditory performance—a case control study. Int J Pediatr Otorhinolaryngol 113:102–109

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. Katsushika M et al (2018) Outcomes of cochlear implantations for mumps deafness: A report of four pediatric cases. Int J Pediatr Otorhinolaryngol 114:76–79

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. Hassepass F et al (2013) Clinical outcome after cochlear implantation in patients with unilateral hearing loss due to labyrinthitis ossificans. Otol Neurotol 34(7):1278–1283

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Author notes

  1. Anja Kurz and Marius Grubenbecher contributed equally to this paper.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology, Plastic, Aesthetic and Reconstructive Head and Neck Surgery, Comprehensive Hearing Center, University Hospital Würzburg, Josef Schneider Str. 11, 97080, Würzburg, Germany

    Anja Kurz, Marius Grubenbecher, Kristen Rak, Rudolf Hagen & Heike Kühn

Authors
  1. Anja Kurz
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Marius Grubenbecher
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Kristen Rak
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Rudolf Hagen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Heike Kühn
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Anja Kurz.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

None of the authors received funding in relation to this article. The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical approval

All procedures performed in this study involving human participants were in accordance with ethical standards of the institutional and /or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration. Because of the retrospective study design, formal consent was not required. The study was approved by the Ethical Commission of the Medical University of Würzburg, Germany (Nr. 20180808 02).

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Kurz, A., Grubenbecher, M., Rak, K. et al. The impact of etiology and duration of deafness on speech perception outcomes in SSD patients. Eur Arch Otorhinolaryngol 276, 3317–3325 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00405-019-05644-w

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00405-019-05644-w

Keywords

Search

Navigation