Clinical significance of the neural response telemetric thresholds in Mandarin-speaking cochlear implant patients

Ching Nung Wu, Chao Hui Yang, Ping Che Huang, Yi Wen Huang, Chung Feng Hwang*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal Article peer-review

2 Scopus citations

Abstract

Background: It is unclear whether neural response telemetric (NRT) thresholds are related to lexical tonal language performance after cochlear implants (CIs). We explored the factors associated with changes in NRT thresholds and postoperative performance of CI patients. Methods: Patients receiving nucleus 24 CIs in our hospital from November 2010 were enrolled. We analyzed medical records and NRT thresholds. Mandarin speech and tone identification were measured in CI patients for at least 1 year postoperatively. Results: Seventy-two patients with an average age of 16.1 years received CIs. The postoperative NRT threshold was lower than the intraoperative threshold. The NRT threshold was higher in the early- than the late-activation group (mapping within 21 vs >21 days postoperatively, respectively). Lower intraoperative NRT thresholds and curved electrodes were significantly associated with lower postoperative NRT thresholds. In multiple linear regression analysis, only postoperative NRT thresholds significantly affected speech and tone perception, including word recognition scores, tone perception, and comprehension of easy and difficult sentences (all p < 0.05). Other clinical parameters, including age, gender, implant type, and activation timing, were not significantly associated with clinical tone or speech outcomes. Conclusion: Curved electrode arrays were associated with lower postoperative NRT thresholds. A lower postoperative NRT threshold might predict better performance of Mandarin-speaking CI patients. Future studies should evaluate factors that affect both postoperative NRT thresholds and lexical tonal language performance.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)478-483
Number of pages6
JournalJournal of the Chinese Medical Association
Volume85
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - 01 04 2022
Externally publishedYes

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
Copyright © 2022, the Chinese Medical Association. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)

Keywords

  • Action potentials
  • Cochlear implants
  • Humans
  • Language
  • Speech

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