Cochlear implantation for single-sided deafness after COVID-19 hospitalization

Abstract

Introduction

Understanding the clinical manifestations of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has become an urgent objective in the research community. Amongst the emerging neurologic complications is sensorineural hearing loss. While several cases of hearing loss amongst COVID-19 patients have been reported, the management of these patients has yet to be discussed and determined. Herein we present cochlear implant outcomes for a patient who suffered from unilateral sensorineural hearing loss after a prolonged hospital course for COVID-19.

Methods

A patient who was hospitalized for COVID-19 for one month and subsequently developed unilateral profound sensorineural hearing loss underwent cochlear implantation for single-sided deafness. His COVID-19 hospital course was reviewed in detail. Speech perception and audiometric assessments were used to evaluate cochlear implant outcomes.

Results

After cochlear implantation, the patient demonstrated improved speech perception on the implanted side and decreased tinnitus within 1 month of activation.

Conclusions

Cochlear implantation may be an appropriate intervention for patients who suffer from severe sensorineural hearing loss following infection with COVID-19.

Keywords:

• COVID-19
• Cochlear implantation
• Sensorineural hearing loss

Disclaimer statements

Contributors None.

Funding None.

Conflicts of interest Dr. Roland is on the Cochlear Americas Surgical Advisory Board.

Ethics approval None.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Leena Asfour

Leena Asfour (MD) is an ENT resident at New York University. She also completed her medical education at New York University. Her research focuses on auditory brainstem implant outcomes and quality of life in the pediatric population. She is also interested in cochlear implantation outcomes and quality of life in bimodal users.

Emily Kay-Rivest

Emily Kay-Rivest (MD, MSc) is a neurotology fellow at New York University. She is originally from McGill University in Montreal, Quebec. Her research focuses on cochlear implantation in older adults and understanding the role of frailty and decreased mobility on patient outcomes. She is also interested in single-sided deafness CI outcomes, in both children and adults, as well as CI outcomes in patients with various disabilities.

J. Thomas Roland

J. Thomas Roland, Jr. (MD) is the Mendik Foundation Chairman of the Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Professor of Otolaryngology & Neurosurgery, Co-Director of the NYU Langone Health Cochlear Implant Center and Co-Director of the Neurofibromatosis Center at NYU Langone Medical Center in New York, NY. The bulk of Dr. Roland’s research is related to cochlear implant electrode design and implementation, auditory brainstem implant in children with cochlear nerve deficiency, outcomes with skull base tumors and facial nerve reanimation.