Audiometry-Based Screening Procedure for Cochlear Implant Candidacy

Objective This study defines a screening procedure for cochlear implant (CI) candidacy in hearing aid users by using simple audiometric measures. Methods Within this retrospective study, hearing aid performance and audiometric measures in 185 subjects (318 ears) were analyzed. By means of a linear Naive Bayes classifier, the pure-tone average and the maximum monosyllabic score (PBmax) were used to predict the aided monosyllabic word score and CI candidacy. Results The two parameters PBmax and four-frequency hearing threshold average can be used to predict speech perception with hearing aids with reasonable accuracy for screening purposes. The classification has a sensitivity of 87% and a specificity of 91%. The classification can be represented by a simple linear formula. Conclusion CI candidacy can be predicted based on commonly used audiometric measures. Cochlear implant candidacy may be considered if the difference between the average pure-tone threshold (in decibels) and PBmax (in percent) exceeds 8.