For most post-lingually deafened adults, adjusting to life with a cochlear implant is “like riding a bike,” said Robert Labadie, MD, PhD, professor of otolaryngology and biomedical engineering at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn. But “some patients may not like it,” Dr. Gantz said. “They may be disappointed that it doesn’t generate the information they thought it would immediately; sometimes it takes time, and there’s variability of performance. Not everybody gets to 80 or 90 percent word understanding.”
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October 2013Additionally, some studies have suggested that older adults, especially those older than age 75, are more likely to experience balance problems post-cochlear implantation than younger adults (Otol Neurotol. 2013;34:1272-1277). Preparing patients (and families) for the possibility of balance difficulties after surgery may increase patient safety and satisfaction. “We need to counsel patients and let them know that if they are having balance problems before surgery, they may have more after,” Dr. Labadie said. “We want them to be aware so they can take appropriate measures and not put themselves in unsafe settings.”
In the years to come, cochlear implantation of older adults is predicted to increase. “We are literally at the tip of the iceberg in terms of the crush of older adults who are aging but very healthy and want to live to their full potentials,” Dr. Lin says. “I think there’s going to be a huge increase in the number of patients who will qualify and who are likely to want a cochlear implant.”
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