Skip to main content
AAO-HNSF 2024 Annual Meeting & OTO EXPO Main banner
Icon Legend
This session is not in your schedule.
This session is in your schedule. Click again to remove it.
Back

Scientific Oral Presentations

Otology/Neurotology

Session: Scientific Oral Presentations 1 - Otology/Neurotology

Trends in Cochlear Implantation Among Older Adults in California, 2018–2020

Saturday, September 28, 2024
10:24 AM – 10:30 AM EDT
Location: MBCC, 231
Disclosure(s):
Emily C. Wong, MD:

faculty for this accredited education activity has no relationship(s) with ineligible companies to disclose.

Rance J.T Fujiwara, MD MBA:

faculty for this accredited education activity has no relationship(s) with ineligible companies to disclose.

Introduction: Hearing loss among older adults is associated with depression, decline in cognitive function, and falling. Cochlear implantation (CI) is the gold standard treatment for severe to profound hearing loss. Previous studies have studied barriers to accessing CI; however, little is known about the demographic factors associated with CI among older adults.

Methods: The Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP) California State Ambulatory Surgery Database (SASD) from 2018–2020 was accessed and all patients who underwent CI (using CPT code 69930) above the age of 70 were included. Demographic factors were examined including race, sex, income level, and zip code. Population rates of CI were determined based on previously reported estimates of hearing loss in older adults.

Results: In total, 2,777 patients in California underwent CI from 2018–2020. Of these patients, 918 (33.1%) were over age 70. The rate of CI per 1,000 adults over 70 years old with severe hearing loss was calculated to be 40.1 for White, 9.9 for Black, 4.7 for Hispanic, and 13.6 for Asian patients. White patients had greater odds of receiving CI than Hispanic (OR 8.5, 95CI 6.3–11.5), Black (OR 4.1, 95CI 3.2–5.1), and Asian patients (OR 2.9, 95CI 2.4–3.6). A binomial regression was performed to identify factors associated with CI over the age of 70. After adjusting for population prevalence of severe hearing loss, male sex was associated with increased odds of undergoing CI (OR 1.8, 95CI 1.4–2.4), whereas identifying as Black or Hispanic was associated with decreased odds of CI (OR 0.49, 95CI 0.25–0.96 and OR 0.21, 95CI 0.14–¬0.31, respectively). Patients residing in zip codes from the lowest income quartile also had lower odds of CI than patients in the highest income quartile zip codes (OR 0.7, 95CI 0.5–0.9).

Conclusions: In California, demographic variables including race, sex, and income affect odds of undergoing CI at an older age. These findings suggest that sociodemographic factors play a role in cochlear implantation among older individuals with hearing loss and provide potential avenues for intervention to improve access to CI in older adults.

    Presenting Author(s)

  • Emily C. Wong, MD

    Resident Physician
    UCLA Medical Center
    Los Angeles, CA, United States

    Disclosure(s):

    faculty for this accredited education activity has no relationship(s) with ineligible companies to disclose.

    • Co-Author(s)

  • RF

    Rance J.T Fujiwara, MD, MBA

    Fellow Physician
    UT Southwestern Medical Center
    Dallas, Texas, United States

    Disclosure(s):

    faculty for this accredited education activity has no relationship(s) with ineligible companies to disclose.

  • GI

    Gail Ishiyama, MD

    UCLA Health System, United States

    Disclosure information not submitted.

    • Senior Author(s)

  • AI

    Akira Ishiyama, MD

    Professor, Division of Head and Neck Surgery, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA
    UCLA Health System, United States

    Disclosure information not submitted.