Sarcouncil Journal of Medical Series

Abstract: Background: Early cochlear implantation (CI) is the treatment of choice for children with bilateral severe to profound sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL), where the critical period for auditory development requires timely surgical intervention to maximize speech, language, and cognitive outcomes. The aim of this study is to assess the overall audiologic, speech-language, and developmental outcomes for 113 children who received early cochlear implants (CI) for bilateral sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL). Methods: A prospective cohort study was carried out at a tertiary referral center from January 2025 to July 2026, with 113 children (6–36 months at implantation) with bilateral severe-to-profound SNHL were enrolled for study in both unilateral and bilateral cochlear implant patients. Results: The mean age at implantation was 14.8 ± 7.2 months. 78.8% of children scored at ≥5 CAP scores and 69.0% scored at ≥4 SIR scores at 24 months after implantation. Children implanted before 12 months showed significantly better results on all measures than children implanted at 12–24 months and 24–36 months (p<0.001). Statistically significant improvements for bilateral implantation were observed for sound localization and/or speech perception in noise. The rate of complications did not differ significantly from 8.0%, and no significant surgical complications were reported that required explantation. Conclusion: Children with bilateral SNHL who receive early cochlear implantation (before 12 months of age) have better speech-language and audiological outcomes. The results of this research are very supportive of the implementation of universal newborn hearing screening programs and prompt referral systems to reduce the time of auditory deprivation