Assessment of unilateral cochlear implant user children withvideo head impulse test (VHIT)

The changes in the inner ear affect both the cochlea and the vestibule. It is stated in the literature that these effects are observed after cochlear implant (CI) surgery. Accordingly, the aim of our study is to evaluate the effect of unilateral cochlear implant use on vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR) in children aged 7-18 years. VHIT was used to evaluate VOR and the results of unilateral CI users were compared with individuals in the same age group. The study included 29 individuals aged 7-18 years, who have been using unilateral cochlear implants for at least 1 year, and 32 individuals in the same age range without hearing loss as the control group. The study group was evaluated in two different situations: cochlear implant sound processor on (CI-ON) and cochlear implant sound processor off (CI-OFF). The data obtained in the evaluations were compared between the implanted ear and the non-implanted ear between the CI-ON and CI-OFF states in the study group and between the study group and the non-user control group. When the CI-ON and CI-OFF status of the study group were compared, no significant difference was found (p> 0.05). Similarly, no significant difference was found between the implanted ear and the non-implanted ear (p> 0.05). Also, there was no significant difference in the comparisons between the study group and the control group (p> 0.05). The data obtained from our study showed that the use of cochlear implants in individuals aged 7-18 years did not cause a significant difference on VHIT results.