Intraoperative objective test findings in individuals with cochlear implants with internal ear anomalies

The aim of this study is to compare the results of objective testing techniques in cochlear implant users with and without inner ear anomalies. For this purpose, 16 patients with cochlear implants, aged 1-10 years, with inner ear anomalies and 13 without inner ear anomalies were included in the study. Individuals, who had inner ear anomalies after radiological and audiological evaluations, and whose inner ear structures were suitable for Medel brand intracochlear electrodes after the decision of the cochlear implant council, individuals with inner ear anomaly and normal cochlea were included regardless of gender and social level differences. After the implantation surgery, he is among the people who had a routine audiological test battery. In this protocol, telemetry and impedance measurement, e-CAP measurement, which is placed into the cochlea by the ENT surgeon, giving information about the integrity of the electrode, and A-ART, which is the automatic ART procedure in the Medel software, were applied. In this stimulation, the measurements made by both stimulus and recording from the electrode placed in the cochlea were evaluated. In addition, measurement of electrically stimulated stapes muscle reflex, e-SRT, was performed. Finally, e-ABR measurements were made by connecting two separate systems to each other with a trigger cable, sending an electrical stimulus over the implant and recording the response created by this stimulus over the ABR device. It was observed that e-SRT and A-ART responses were higher in patients without inner ear anomaly than in those with inner ear anomaly. The study also found that the e-ABR thresholds differed significantly between the two groups at different time points and electrodes. It was observed that the present levels and delays of e-ABR wave V differed between the group with inner ear anomaly and the control group. As a result, objective testing techniques are gaining importance for cochlear implant users with inner ear anomalies, especially young children, and this study shows that e-ABR is a more reliable measurement than e-CAP or e-SRT for the specific cochlear implant group. Keywords: Cochlear Implant, Inner Ear Anomaly, Intraoperative Objective Test, e-ABR