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Improvement in tinnitus distress, health-related quality of life and psychological comorbidities by cochlear implantation in single-sided deaf patients

Verbesserung von Tinnitusdistress, Lebensqualität und psychologischen Komorbiditäten durch Cochleaimplantation einseitig ertaubter Patienten

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Abstract

Background

Patients with single-sided deafness (SSD) lack the ability localize sound sources and have difficulty with speech-in-noise hearing. In addition, there is a high prevalence of tinnitus distress. These problems may result in reduced health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and psychological comorbidities. This study aimed to investigate the influence of treatment with a cochlear implant (CI) on HRQoL, tinnitus distress, psychological comorbidities, and audiological parameters in SSD patients.

Methods

This retrospective study included 20 patients with postlingually acquired SSD (13 women, 7 men, mean age 57.0 years). Data on HRQoL were collected with the Nijmegen Cochlear Implant Questionnaire (NCIQ) and the Medical Outcome Study Short Form 36 Survey (SF-36). Tinnitus distress was assessed with the Tinnitus Questionnaire (TQ), psychological comorbidities were evaluated with validated questionnaires, and speech perception and hearing ability were measured with validated speech tests.

Results

Postoperatively, the mean total NCIQ score (p < 0.0001) and four subscores improved significantly, as did tinnitus distress (p < 0.05). Anxiety symptoms (Generalized Anxiety Disorder questionnaire, GAD-7) decreased significantly after CI. Speech perception improved significantly, particularly “hearing with background noise” (p < 0.05, Oldenburg Inventory, OI) and “localization” (p < 0.001, OI), as well as the Oldenburg Sentence Test (OlSa) scores for with vs. without CI when speech was presented from the SSD side and noise was presented from the normal hearing side (SSSDNNH; p < 0.005).

Conclusion

CI in SSD patients is a powerful procedure to improve HRQoL, reduce tinnitus distress, and improve psychological comorbidities. Additionally, it is beneficial for hearing improvement, particularly in noise and for directional hearing.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Charité—University Medical Center Berlin, Campus Virchow-Klinikum, Augustenburger Platz 1, 13353, Berlin, Germany

    S. M. Häußler MD, S. Knopke, S. Dudka, S. Gräbel & H. Olze

  2. Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Medical Center, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany

    M. C. Ketterer

  3. Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Unfallkrankenhaus Berlin, Berlin, Germany

    R.-D. Battmer & A. Ernst

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  1. S. M. Häußler MD
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  2. S. Knopke
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  3. S. Dudka
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  4. S. Gräbel
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Correspondence to S. M. Häußler MD.

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Conflict of interest

S. M. Häußler S. Knopke, S. Dudka, S. Gräbel, M. C. Ketterer, R.-D. Battmer, A. Ernst and H. Olze declare that they have no competing interests.

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants or on human tissue were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1975 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Häußler, S.M., Knopke, S., Dudka, S. et al. Improvement in tinnitus distress, health-related quality of life and psychological comorbidities by cochlear implantation in single-sided deaf patients. HNO 68 (Suppl 1), 1–10 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00106-019-0705-8

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