Vestibular function, subjective complaints, perceived disability in daily life, and sports activities in patients with cochlear implants performed during childhood: a prospective cross-section study.

Background: Vestibular function (VF) in patients with cochlear implantation (CI) performed during childhood is underinvestigated.

Objective: To study VF in patients receiving CI during childhood.

Material & Methods: Sixty patients (22 females) from 7-34 years old, unilaterally ( = 21) and bilaterally ( = 39) implanted, were included. Deafness was congenital ( = 45), consequential to meningitis ( = 3), skull fracture ( = 1), perinatal CMV infection ( = 1), ototoxic drugs ( = 1), unknown etiology ( = 9). VF was measured between 1 to 22 years after implantation, including calorics, v-HIT, c-VEMPS. Dizziness handicap inventory (DHI), age at independent walking(IW), sport activities were also investigated.

Results: Nine CI-patients (15%) reported dizziness/vertigo either prior or months to years after surgery. Comparison between symptomatic (15%), asymptomatic (85%), uni-bilaterally CI-patients showed no significant difference on VF's impairment for calorics () and v-HIT ( Symptoms were not related to vestibular impairment. Age at implantation (), uni- bilateral (), simultaneous versus sequential () did not influence IW age. DHI showed a tendency for being symptomatic at higher implantation age. Interval between CI, IWage, current age between surgery and vestibular evaluation did not have a significant effect on symptomatology.

Conclusion & Significance: This first middle to long-term evaluation of the VF in CI-patients, implanted in childhood, pointed out that 85% of patients were asymptomatic, with a mean time of >10 years after surgery. Vestibular impairment and symptoms seem to be mainly due to the underlying inner ear's disease rather than surgery.