Choice of cochlear implant side in a paediatric population.

Objective: To compare the effect of right- or left-sided cochlear implantation on listening skills in a paediatric population.

Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted on the listening skills performance data of children who were operated on and followed up at the Çukurova University Department of Otorhinolaryngology between 2007 and 2011. Sixty-three patients were included in the study. Patients were evaluated using the Listening Progress Profile, the Meaningful Auditory Integration Scale and the littlEARS test.

Results: The mean age of the children was two years (range of one to five years). Twenty-nine patients were male and 34 were female. Twenty-eight patients were implanted in the right ear and 35 in the left ear. There were no statistically significant differences between right and left ear implantees in terms of listening skills performance.

Conclusion: This study indicates that the choice of cochlear implant side is not crucial for the development of listening skills.