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OBJECTIVES: To assess the impact of cochlear implantation on quality of life changes in older adults aged 50 years and above. STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective study by questionnaire and chart review. METHODS: Forty-seven patients aged 50 to 80 years (mean age, 63. 4 y SD = 8. 6 y), who have multiple-channel cochlear implants received at The Listening Center at Johns Hopkins Hospital, completed the Ontario Health Utilities Index Mark 3 survey and a questionnaire on quality of life changes. Health utility scores before and after cochlear implantation were measured, and audiologic data before implantation and at 6 months and 1 year after implantation were analyzed. RESULTS: Cochlear implantation in older adults is associated with a mean gain in health utility (P <. 0001) of 0. 24 (SD = 0. 33), which corresponds to a favorable cost-utility of 9530 per quality-adjusted life-year. Improvements in hearing and emotional health attributes were primarily responsible for this increase in health-related quality of life measure. There was a significant increase in speech perception scores at 6 months after surgery (P <. 0001 for both CID sentence and monosyllabic word tests) and a strong correlation between the magnitude of health utility gains and the postoperative increase in speech perception scores (r = 0. 45, P <. 05). CONCLUSIONS: Cochlear implants have a significant impact on the quality of life of older deaf patients, and are a cost-effective intervention in this population. Improvements in speech perception are predictive of gains in health-related quality of life and associated emotional benefits after cochlear implantation.
Francis et al. (Thu,) studied this question.
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