RESEARCH ARTICLE Determination of Benefits of Cochlear Implantation in Children with Auditory

Background Auditory neuropathy (AN) is a recently recognized hearing disorder characterized by intact outer hair cell function, disrupted auditory nerve synchronization and poor speech percep-tion and recognition. Cochlear implants (CIs) are currently the most promising intervention for improving hearing and speech in individuals with AN. Although previous studies have shown optimistic results, there was large variability concerning benefits of CIs among indi-viduals with AN. The data indicate that different criteria are needed to evaluate the benefit of CIs in these children compared to those with sensorineural hearing loss. We hypothesized that a hierarchic assessment would be more appropriate to evaluate the benefits of cochlear implantation in AN individuals. Methods Eight prelingual children with AN who received unilateral CIs were included in this study. Hearing sensitivity and speech recognition were evaluated pre- and postoperatively within each subject. The efficacy of cochlear implantation was assessed using a stepwise hierar