Cochlear Implants in Pediatric Bacterial Meningitis
Objective 1) To determine pediatric cochlear implant performance outcomes for hearing loss secondary to bacterial meningitis. 2) To determine if a performance difference exists in pediatric cochlear implant patients with and without labyrinthitis ossificans. Methods A retrospective case review was performed at a tertiary care multi-disciplinary cochlear implant program. 45 children were implanted from 1991 to 2006 whose hearing loss resulted from bacterial meningitis. Mode of communication, school placement and performance were reviewed. Results 21 patients(52%) were in a mainstream educational enviroment and 19 (48%) were in a special needs enviroment. 24 subjects (58%) used an auditory-verbal mode of communication, while 17 (42%) used total communication. The mean speech reception threshold was 28dB with a range from 5 to 65dB. 14 subjects (56%) had labyrinthis ossifcans, while 11 subjects (44%) did not. Conclusions The present study demonstrated that over half of our subjects developed labyrinthitis ossificans. Despite the presence of cochlear ossification, patients with bacterial meningitis-induced hearing loss can often perform in a main-stem classroom with auditory-verbal communication.