Auditory & Verbal Outcomes Following Cochlear Implant in Patients with Demyelinating Diseases of Brain

Objective: The objective of the study was to evaluate early auditory and verbal outcomes following cochlear implant (CI) in patients with radiological findings suggestive of demyelinating lesions in the brain. Methods: The study was conducted in the Department of ENT, Civil Hospital, Ahmixlabad, Gujarat. We studied and evaluated early auditory and verbal outcome following CI in 30 patients who had demyelinating lesions in the brain on magnetic resonance imaging, of 1- to 5-year age group. Hearing and speech ability was recorded on categories of auditory performance (CAP) scale and speech intelligibility rating scale and was compared to patients with normal cerebral myelination. Results: Patients in case group showed comparable scores on CAP scale and speech intelligibility scale compared to the patients who did not have demyelinating disease in the same time frame. Conclusion: Patients with demyelinating lesions showed similar auditory and verbal responses compared to normal implant patients who show that demyelinating diseases do not pose limitations in the early outcome of auditory response in such patients.