Bilateral cochlear implantation in adults: sequential or simultaneous approach?

Introduction: The benefits of bilateral cochlear implantation (BCI) are well established in the literature. However, there is no consensus on the optimal timing for implantation in adults—whether it should be simultaneous or sequential. Materials and Methods: This retrospective study included patients who underwent BCI placement, patients were divided into two groups, depending on whether BCI was sequential (SeqCI) or simultaneous (SimCI). Results: The mean total procedure time (TPT) for SimCI was 10.4 minutes shorter than the combined duration for SeqCI. SimCI patients had a 1.74-day shorter hospital stay and required 15.34 fewer follow-up consultations than SeqCI patients (p<0.05). No significant differences were detected in the auditory outcomes between groups, except for maximum speech intelligibility, which was significantly higher in the SimCI group (p<0.05). Conclusion: Simultaneous BCI significantly reduced hospital stay and the number of post-operative consultations and exhibited higher maximum speech intelligibility without an increase in complication rates.