Feasibility of one-day activation in cochlear implant recipients

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Abstract
Objective: To determine if cochlear implants recipients can be safely and effectively fitted with their sound processor one day after their implant surgery. Design: All subjects were implanted with MED-EL Concerto cochlear implant. Subjects’ electrode impedance levels, maximum comfortable levels, and threshold levels were measured one day after surgery and compared to measurements obtained one month post implantation using the non-parametric Wilcoxon signed-rank test. Study sample: Twenty-nine participants in the age range of 1 to 42 years (average of 5 years). Results: No adverse events were reported post-operatively. Measures after one day of surgery were significantly less than those measured one month post implantation. Conclusion: Early activation of the implant did not impact the healing process of the incision site, suggesting that one-day activation of the implant is feasible for some patients when medically possible. The evolution of the impedance and stimulation levels were consistent with that reported in previous studies, which indicates that early activation did not interfere with the physiological changes taking place after implantation.

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