6533b7d7fe1ef96bd1268e73

RESEARCH PRODUCT

Evolution of otosclerosis to cochlear implantation.

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Abstract Introduction Otosclerosis is an osteodystrophy of the labyrinthine capsule producing conductive hearing loss. If the process invades the cochlea, a sensorineural hearing loss usually takes place. The cochlear implant is a good alternative in these patients. Objective To ascertain the behaviour of cochlear implantation (CI) in otosclerosis. Material and methods We reviewed a database of 250 patients who underwent CI, performing a retrospective study of 13 patients with clinical, audiological and/or imaging findings of bilateral otosclerosis. The 26 ears were studied as to their natural history, previous surgeries, evolution to profound hearing loss, computed tomography (CT) images, complications and functional results. Results Of the cases studied, 46% were female and 54% were men, with a mean age of 26 years at the onset of conductive hearing loss. Stapes surgery was performed in 19 ears (73%), with a mean patient age of 29 years, and 53% of them underwent CI. CT results showed that there were signs of different degrees of radiological affectation in 54% of the ears. A total of 3 complications took place (23%): implant failure, overstimulation of the facial nerve (FN) and bilateral tinnitus were found. One year after implantation, the average percentages of correct 2-syllable words were 80% and 85% in open sentences. Conclusions Patients having profound bilateral sensorineural hearing loss secondary to otosclerosis obtain great benefit from CI.