Positional vertigo and cochlear implantation.

Objective: To identify patients developing positional vertigo after cochlear implantation.

Study Design: Prospective study on a cohort of patients undergoing cochlear implantation.

Setting: Academic tertiary referral center.

Vestibular impairment and cochlear implantation.

Conclusion: Cochlear implantation (CI) may induce vestibular impairment soon after surgery as well as after implant activation. This impairment seems to be independent from the cause of deafness and can be considered a possible complication from the intra-operative trauma and, to minor degree, from the ongoing electric stimulation. It would also seem that vestibular damage occurs independently from the likelihood of post-operative hearing deterioration.