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Abstract
Objective
This study aimed to synthesise information concerning the potential benefits and risks related to cochlear implants (CIs) versus hearing aids (HAs) in children with residual hearing.
Design
A systematic review of articles published from January 2003 to January 2019 was conducted.
Study sample
Our review included studies that compared the benefits and risks of CIs versus HAs in children (≤18 years old) with residual hearing. A total of 3265 citations were identified; 8 studies met inclusion criteria.
Results
Children with CIs showed significantly better speech perception scores post-CI than pre-CI. There was limited evidence related to improvement in everyday auditory performance, and the results showed non-significant improvement in speech intelligibility. One study on social-emotional functioning suggested benefits from CIs. In four studies, 37.2% (16/43) of children showed loss of residual hearing and 14.0% (8/57) had discontinued or limited use of their device.
Conclusions
Children with CIs showed improvement in speech perception outcomes compared to those with HAs. However, due to the limited number of studies and information to guide decision-making related to other areas of development, it will be important to conduct further research of both benefits and risks of CIs in this specific population to facilitate decision-making.
Acknowledgements
The authors are grateful to Dr. Lucie Brosseau for her guidance throughout this study. We thank Lindsey Sikora, librarian at the Health Sciences Library, University of Ottawa, for developing the electronic search strategies, and Marie-Cécile Domecq, librarian, for peer review of the search strategy. The authors thank Dr. Bénédicte Vos, for verifying the quality assessment. We also appreciate assistance with data extraction from Catherine Gay and Elsa Cattelan at the Child Hearing Lab, CHEO Research Institute.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).