New Study Promotes Bilateral Implants

Bilateral cochlear implants: A case when 2 are definitely superior to 1

INDIANAPOLIS -- A study of cochlear implant patients seen by Indiana
University School of Medicine physicians is the first research to show
evidence that cochlear implants in both ears significantly improves quality
of life in patients with profound hearing loss and that the cost of the
second implant is offset by its benefits.

The study, which appears in the May issue of the journal Otolaryngology- Head
and Neck Surgery, found that improvements in factors that contribute to
quality of life including such critical abilities as hearing in noisy
environments, focusing on conversations, and speaking at an appropriate
volume resulted when cochlear devices were implanted in both ears.

This study may have a significant impact for profoundly deaf individuals who
hope to have their health insurance providers pay for bilateral rather than
the standard single cochlear implant. The study authors found the benefits
of the second implant outweighed the added cost of the second device.

"We didn't know that cognitive skills and emotional issues would so
significantly improve with the implantation of a second cochlear device. In
addition to the physiological improvements we saw in patients who had
bilateral implants, we found that patients were able to function better in
noisy environments and definitely felt better about themselves," said senior
study author Richard Miyamoto, M.D., Arilla Spence DeVault Professor and
chairman of the Department of Otolaryngology- Head and Neck Surgery.

Dr. Miyamoto is the immediate past president of the American Academy of
Otolaryngology- Head and Neck Surgery. First author of the study is Bradford
G. Bichey, M.D., MPH, a former research fellow and resident at the IU School
of Medicine and currently an otolaryngologist in Marion, Ind.

"Profoundly deaf individuals who were born with hearing, their families,
physicians, and health insurance providers now have the data they need,"
said Dr. Miyamoto. "There is definite improvement after one implant and
there is a significant added bump in sound and speech perception after the
second implant. Emotional well being improves. And we found a favorable cost
utility analysis. Our hope is that with these findings more health insurance
companies will cover the cost of bilateral implants and bring a superior
quality of life to a large number of individuals. "

Approximately 1.4 million American are deaf in both ears and experience
significant impairment in communication with the hearing world according to
the study authors. The IU School of Medicine cochlear program is one of the
largest in the country. IU physicians have implanted more than 1,500
cochlear devices over the past quarter century at Indiana University
Hospital and Riley Hospital for Children.

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This study was funded by the IU School of Medicine's Department of
Otolaryngology- Head and Neck Surgery.