Frequency‐to‐Place Mismatch Impacts Cochlear Implant Quality of Life, But Not Speech Recognition
Joshua J. Sturm, Cheng Ma, Theodore R. McRackan, Kara C. Schvartz‐Leyzac
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To retrospectively compare frequency-place mismatch among adult cochlear implant (CI) recipients with lateral wall (LW) and perimodiolar/Mid Scala (PM/MS) arrays, and to quantify the impact of these factors on early post-activation (3 months) speech recognition abilities and CI-specific quality of life. METHODS: One hundred and twenty-six adult participants were separated into two groups: (1) 83 participants who underwent CI with a PM/MS array and 43 patients who underwent CI with a LW array. All participants completed the Cochlear Implant Quality of Life Profile (CIQOL-35 Profile) instrument. Angular insertion depth and semitone mismatch, which contribute to frequency-place mismatch, were assessed using post-operative CT scans. Word and speech recognition in quiet were determined using the Consonant-Nucleus-Consonant (CNC) and the AzBio tests, respectively (n = 82 patients). RESULTS: LW arrays were more deeply inserted and exhibited less semitone mismatch compared to PM/MS arrays. No significant relationship was found between semitone mismatch and early post-operative speech perception scores for either PM/MS or LW arrays. However, greater degrees of semitone mismatch were associated with lower CIQOL-35 profile scores for PM/MS arrays. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: The results of this study indicate that both the degree of frequency-place mismatch, and its impact on CI-specific quality of life, vary by CI array design. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: 4 Laryngoscope, 134:2898-2905, 2024.