National Trends in Cochlear Implantation Across the Department of the Defense: A Case for Inclusion as a General Otolaryngology Core Competency.

Objective: With ongoing national expansions in cochlear implantation (CI) candidacy criteria, more patients qualify for CI today than ever before. Among US veterans and military service members, the prevalence of qualifying degrees of hearing loss secondary to occupational noise exposure exceeds the general population. The primary aim of the current work was to evaluate CI trends across the military health system.