Patients
This study included 78 children (41 females and 37 males) who underwent
CI at the Department of Otorhinolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery at
Beijing Tongren Hospital between January 2021 and February 2022. The
children’s mean age at implantation was
5.7±4.1
years (range, 0.7–17.8 years). All participants met the dignosis
criterion for bilateral profound or
severe hearing loss and met the CI implanted criterion. In order to
eliminate residual hearing or impact of crossover from the normal ear
,single-sided deafness was excluded here. Besides, patients aged
>18 years, with cognitive and psychological impairments,
and unable to participate in follow-up examinations were excluded from
this study.
The type and degree of IEMs were classified according to the work of
Sennaroglu et al. in 2017[11]. The IEM group
classification is listed in Table 1. All patients were divided into two
groups based on the presence (IEM group) or absence of IEMs (control
group). Each group had 39 patients.
Before surgery, inner ear computed tomography (CT) and magnetic
resonance imaging (MRI) scans, audiological assessments (including
standard pure tone audiometry, auditory brainstem response evaluation,
auditory steady-state response assessment, distortion product
otoacoustic emission, cochlear microphonics evaluation), and cVEMP test,
were performed. Electronic ear endoscope or tympanograms performs prior
to VEMP testing to ensure there was no middle ear fluid or an ongoing
hemotympanum. The O-VEMP was performed on patients who were able to
cooperate. This study was approved by the Institutional Review Board of
Beijing Tongren Hospital.