Relationship Between Early Tinnitus Outcomes and Long-term Quality of Life in Cochlear Implant Recipients

Objective: (1) Evaluate tinnitus outcomes in adults after cochlear implantation, (2) examine the impact of demographic/audiologic factors on tinnitus outcomes, and (3) determine the relationship between early tinnitus outcomes and long-term hearing-related quality of life (QoL). Study Design: Retrospective review of prospectively collected data. Setting: Adult cochlear implant (CI) center. Patients: Eighty-three adult CI recipients aged 20 to 84 years old (mean=66.2, SD 16.4). Interventions: Patient-reported outcome measures before and after cochlear implantation. Main Outcome Measures: Tinnitus Handicap Inventory (THI); Speech, Spatial, and Qualities of Hearing Scale-12 (SSQ-12); and the Cochlear Implant Quality of Life-10 measure (CIQOL-10) pre-CI and post-CI. Results: (1) THI scores significantly improved from pre-CI to early (1 to 3 mo) post-CI, with no additional gains by long-term (6 to 2 mo) post-CI. Early post-CI, 77.2% of patients reported a clinically significant improvement in their tinnitus-induced distress from pre-CI to post-CI. (2) Patients with early clinical THI improvement had shorter durations of deafness and greater CI usage than those with a lack of improvement. (3) Early post-CI THI scores were negatively correlated with long-term overall SSQ-12 scores. Long-term post-CI THI scores were also negatively correlated with long-term CIQOL-10 scores and overall SSQ-12 scores. Conclusion: Adult CI recipients reported improved tinnitus-induced distress at early post-CI and maintained this improvement long-term. Patients with shorter durations of deafness and greater CI usage were more likely to report relief in tinnitus-induced distress. Early THI outcomes post-CI were associated with long-term QoL. Clinicians should consider early evaluation of tinnitus outcomes to inform patient counseling regarding long-term CI outcomes. Level of Evidence: Level IV—historical cohort or case-controlled studies. Indicate IRB: 24087.