THE CENTRAL AUDITORY SYSTEM AND COCHLEAR IMPLANTATION: USING OLFACTORY TESTING TO EVALUATE A POTENTIAL CENTRAL COMPONENT IN COCHLEAR IMPLANT PERFORMANCE
Journal Title: Journal of Hearing Science - Year 2017, Vol 7, Issue 1
Abstract
Background: Cochlear implantation is a highly successful intervention that, despite remarkable improvements in hardware and software, continues to show a high degree of variability in outcomes. Performance in adult patients can potentially be affected by the integrity of spiral ganglion neurons or by the performance of the central auditory system. Prolonged deafness and dementia are conditions that affect the central auditory system and can negatively impact cochlear implant outcomes. Central auditory test batteries can evaluate the central component of hearing in patients that have significant residual hearing, but cannot be effectively used in most cochlear implant patients. A wide variety of recent studies have shown that decline in olfaction predates and often predicts a variety of central nervous system degenerative disorders. We set out to evaluate if olfaction testing could predict hearing results after cochlear implantation. Materials and methods: Preliminary data from this study may help identify patients at risk for poor performance. The screening test is easy to use and can be performed preoperativley Results: Lower olfaction (UPSIT) scores correlated with poorer hearing outcomes (AzBio +10 dB) at 6 months post activation. Patients with lower UPSIT scores also showed less change in AzBio +10 dB scores over a 6-month period. Conclusions: Olfactory testing may be useful in preoperative evaluation of cochlear implant patients. Identification of patients at risk for central auditory system dysfunction may be possible by evaluation of patients’ olfactory function.
Authors and Affiliations
Thomas Muelleman, Elizabeth Ripley, Valerie Wood, Hinrich Staecker
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP378788
- DOI 10.17430/900408
- Views 54
- Downloads 0
HEARING LOSS AND VERY LOW BIRTHWEIGHT
Background: Regardless of gestational age, any newborn (NB) with a weight at birth of <1500 g is considered to be of very low birth weight (VLBW). The incidence of hearing loss in this population group is 5–6% but the fr...
COMPARISON OF NATURAL AND SYNTHETIC MATERIALS TO IMPROVE HEARING AFTER OBLITERATION OF THE MASTOID CAVITY
Background: Indications for removal of mastoid air cells and obliterating the mastoid cavity vary considerably from surgeon to surgeon. Various obliteration techniques have been recommended to eliminate open cavity probl...
EFFECT OF LONG-TERM EXPOSURE TO TRAFFIC NOISE ON AUDITORY TEMPORAL RESOLUTION OF TRAFFIC POLICE: A PRELIMINARY STUDY
Background: Prolonged exposure to occupational noise can lead to various audiological and non-audiological effects. The present study is a preliminary investigation of the temporal resolution ability of traffic police of...
A REVIEW OF NEONATAL HEARING SCREENING PRACTICES IN INDIA
Newborn hearing screening (NHS) programs were implemented in India as a part of research studies beginning in the early 1970s. Later, several hospitals established their own hearing screening programs. In 2006, the Gover...
COCHLEAR IMPLANTATION IN CONGENITALLY DEAF CHILDREN WITH ISOLATED LARGE VESTIBULAR AQUEDUCT: A SURGEON’S PERSPECTIVE
Background: The vestibular aqueduct is a bony canal containing the endolymphatic duct. Its average diameter is 0.6 to 1.5 mm at its midpoint between the crus communes and its opening at the posterior cranial fossa. If th...