Speech Recognition Ability in Cochlear Implant Users 65 and Older

ABSTRACT

Medicare criteria for cochlear implant candidacy were recently relaxed to include people with aided sentence recognition ability of 40% or poorer. However, these criteria are still more stringent than the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) guidelines. The department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is in a unique situation to examine this population. A large proportion of VA patients are 65 years and older and VA Cochlear Implant Clinical Practice Guidelines recommend the use of FDA guidelines for cochlear implant candidacy. Therefore, VA centers are able to implant patients 65 and older with aided preoperative sentence scores up to 60%. This retrospective study of VA patients revealed that the majority performed better postoperatively than the current Medicare preoperative criteria.

KEYWORDS

Cochlear implant - speech recognition ability - severe to profound hearing loss - older adults - FDA guidelines

REFERENCES

• 1 Medicare expands coverage of cochlear implants. Available at: http://www.cms.hhs.gov/media/press/release.asp?Counter=1312 Accessed October 26, 2006
• 2 Food and Drug Administration PMA approval, November 2000. Available at: http://www.fda.gov/cdrh/pma/pmanov00.html Accessed October 26, 2006
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