Cochlear implants should be an alternative for patients with long-term deafness as well. This was found in a new study at Uppsala University. Previously, patients with an extended deafness duration were thought to derive limited benefit from cochlear implants.
‘We have looked at people who were deaf for at least 20 years before having cochlear implants. Previously, long-term deafness was considered a reason to forego cochlear implants, as the auditory nerve atrophies from lack of use. But now it has been found that the atrophy is slower than previously thought, and therefore, these patients can have good results from the implant as well,’ says Karin Lundin, auditory engineer at the Department of Surgical Sciences at Uppsala University.
