The study aims to investigate retrospectively the prevalence of bimodal stimulation among cochlear implant (CI) users, as well its clinical benefit relative to unilateral CI use. 103 adults with bilateral postlingual profound sensorineural hearing loss and unilateral CI use were extracted from the local database. These were divided into two groups: those who only used a CI and those who used bimodal stimulation. All subjects had been monitored with the clinical Minimal Outcome Measurements (MOM) test battery. The preoperative contralateral residual hearing in the bimodal group was significantly better than that of the CI-only group. In both groups, speech perception in quiet and in noise improved after cochlear implantation, with no significant difference between their postoperative unimodal conditions. For the bimodal group, an additional significant improvement was found for the bimodal condition compared to the unimodal. Given the observed auditory benefit of bimodal stimulation in comparison to unimodal stimulation and given the finding that degree of residual hearing is not correlated with bimodal benefits, it is recommended to encourage CI recipients to continue contralateral HA use after cochlear implantation. As a result of expanding CI criteria worldwide, the population of bimodal users is expected to grow in the near future.

CONTRALATERAL HEARING AID USE IN ADULT COCHLEAR IMPLANT RECIPIENTS: Retrospective analysis of auditory outcomes

It is with great pleasure and enthusiasm, that on behalf of the Cochlear Implant centers of the Radboud UMC in Nijmegen and Erasmus MC Sophia Children’s Hospital in Rotterdam to invite you to attend the 16th European Symposium on Pediatric Cochlear Implantation to Rotterdam, the Netherlands in 2023.

Yours sincerely, on behalf of the CI Centers at Radboud UMC and Erasmus MC,