Longitudinal Developmental Outcomes of Children With Prelingual Single-Sided Deafness With and Without a Cochlear Implant and Recommendations for Follow-Up.

The sample size was relatively small (37 children with SSD total), which may limit the power to detect differences between the implanted and non-implanted groups for some outcomes. There was self-selection bias: parents who chose CI may have differed from those who did not, particularly regarding maternal education levels (though analyses controlled for this). The etiology of deafness differed between groups; most in the CI group had CMV, while most in the non-CI group had cochlear nerve deficiency, which cannot be implanted. The study did not include a full vestibular assessment, only preoperative cVEMPs for some children, which may have missed subtle vestibular deficits. Follow-up duration varied, and some children in the non-implanted group were older or had different causes of deafness than those in the implanted group.

Financial support was provided by Cochlear Ltd. in the form of cochlear implants and funding for clinical mapping. Additional support came from VLAIO in collaboration with Cochlear Technology Center.

Do not conclude that cochlear implantation improves cognitive development or balance in children with single-sided deafness. The study found no significant difference in IQ or balance scores between implanted and non-implanted children, even though implanted children had better spatial hearing.