The Outcome of Cochlear Implantation among Syndromic and Nonsyndromic Patients in a Single Tertiary Care Center in Saudi Arabia During the years (2018–2022)

Background: Hearing loss (HL) can be associated with syndromes such as Pendred, Waardenburg, and Cogan, which are linked to sensorineural HL (SNHL). Cochlear implantation is one treatment option for patients with severe to profound SNHL who do not show improvement after 3–6 months of using traditional hearing aids. This study aims to compare the outcomes of cochlear implantation between patients with syndromic SNHL and those with nonsyndromic SNHL at King Abdullah Medical City (KAMC). Methods: This case–control study investigated cochlear implantation outcomes in syndromic patients with various syndromes such as Pendred, Cogan, Enlarged Vestibular Aqueduct, Pierre Robin sequence, Bartter, Waardenburg, and Vogt–Koyanagi–Harada, as well as nonsyndromic patients at KAMC from 2018 to 2022. In July 2023, data were obtained from the hospital’s medical records and imported into SPSS. Results: The study included 20 subjects, comprising ten syndromic and ten nonsyndromic SNHL patients with cochlear implants. There was no significant difference in Speech Intelligibility Response (SIR) or Categories of Auditory Performance (CAP). In addition, the audiometry results showed normal-to-mild HL, and the outcomes of cochlear implantation were excellent in both groups. However, the syndromic subjects experienced more perioperative complications. Conclusion: Cochlear implantation achieved comparable levels of Auditory Performance (CAP) and Speech Intelligibility (SIR) in syndromic patients compared to nonsyndromic patients. Consequently, any of these genetic disorders should not be considered an obstacle to cochlear implantation surgery, as it can improve these patients’ hearing and quality of life.