(0922) Early Auditory Development of Cochlear Implanted Children With Sensorineural Hearing Loss Following Congenital Cytomegalovirus Infection

Introduction: The aim of the study was to assess early auditory development in CI children with CMV-related hearing loss. The retrospective study included children with congenital CMV who underwent cochlear implantation at an early age due to hearing loss caused by the infection.

Methods: The study included 47 CI children with sensorineural hearing loss following congenital CMV infection with a mean age of 14 months. The applied procedure was a minimally invasive cochlear implantation via the round window.

All children underwent Auditory Brainstem Response test before operation. Early development was assessed with LittleEARS Auditory Questionnaire. The questionnaire was performed at CI activation assessing preimplant auditory development and at each follow up visit related to CI fitting to 14 months of CI use.

Results: In children with CMV-related hearing loss, the mean LittlEARS total score was 5.2 points (SD = 7.1) at CI activation, 16.7 pts. (SD = 8.8) at 5 months of CI use, and 24.8 pts. (SD = 8.4) at 14 months after implantation. In the reference group, the mean results were as follow: 8.3 points. (SD=7.6) at CI activation, 25 points (SD = 5.6) after 5 months of CI use, and 32.3 points (SD=3.9) 14 months post activation.

Conclusions: Early cochlear implantation in children with sensorineural hearing loss following congenital CMV infection facilitates their early auditory development. Nevertheless, in this group of children, the level of auditory development is lower compared to the level observed in children with no CMV-related hearing loss.