Objectives: To conduct critical assessment of the literature on the effects of cochlear implantation on adults’ cognitive abilities. Design: PubMed, Scopus, Lilacs, Web of Science, Livivo, Cochrane, Embase, PsycInfo, and grey literature were searched. Eligibility criteria: age 18 or over with severe-to-profound bilateral hearing loss, cochlear implantation, cognitive test before and after implantation. Risk of bias was assessed using ROB, ROBINS-I and MASTARI tools. Meta-analysis was performed. Study sample: Out of 1830 studies, 16 met the inclusion criteria. Results: On AlaCog test, significant improvement was found after implantation [MD¼ 46.64; CI95% ¼ 69.96 to 23.33; I 2 ¼ 71%]. No significant differences were found on the Flanker, Recall, Trail A and nback tests (p > 0.05). For MMSE, no significance was found [MD 0.63; CI 95% ¼ 2.19 to 3.45; I 2 ¼ 88%]. On TMT, an overall significant effect with a 9-second decrease in processing speed post-implantation [MD¼ 9.43; CI95% ¼ 15.42 to 3.44; I 2 ¼ 0%]. Conclusion: Cognitive improvements after cochlear implantation may depend on time and the cognitive task evaluated. Well-designed studies with longer follow-up are necessary to examine whether cochlear implantation has a positive influence on cognitive abilities. Development of cognitive assessment tools to hearing-impaired individuals is needed.

Changes in cognitive performance after cochlear implantation in adults and older adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis

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,