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Abstract
Two cases with facial spasm on sound stimulation long after cochlear implant surgery are reported. One case had a history of otosclerosis, and experienced facial nerve spasm on sound stimulation 3 years after successful cochlear implant surgery. The other had cochlear implant for bilateral total deafness caused by sudden sensorineural hearing loss. Eight months after surgery, she noticed a mild facial spasm on sound stimulation. Facial spasm in both cases was considered to be caused by stimulation of the labyrinthine portion of the facial nerve by electrodes in the cochlea, and was attributed to osteolytic change of the otic capsule due to otosclerosis in the first case, but the specific cause was unknown in the second. Facial spasm was controlled by deactivation of the responsible electrodes in both cases. Although several instances of this type of complication after cochlear implantation have been reported from the USA, Australia and European countries, none has been reported in Japan before. As otosclerosis has increased recently in Japan, this complication will become more common in Asian countries as well as in Japan in the future.