Author(s)
Alexander J. Jones, MD
Jasmine Moawad, BS
Douglas J. Totten, MD, MBA
Evan Cumpston, MD
Rick F. Nelson, MD, PhD
Affiliation(s)
Indiana University School of Medicine, Department of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery;
Abstract:
Objective: To assess predictive ability of visual-assisted City University of New York (CUNY) sentence test scores on
postoperative AzBio sentence scores in cochlear implant (CI) patients
Study Design: Retrospective cohort study
Setting: Tertiary referral center
Patients: Patients undergoing CI with preoperative CUNY testing
Main Outcome Measures: Impact of high pre-operative combined audio + visual CUNY (defined as =70%) scores, lowfrequency
pure tone average scores, and duration of deafness on one-year postoperative AzBio scores.
Results: Twenty-three mostly white (83%) female (61%) patients with mean age 49 years were included. Comparing
patients with good preoperative CUNY audio + visual scores (=70%) to those with poorer performance (<70%), there were
no statistical differences in age (p=0.877), sex (p=0.102), duration of deafness (p=0.827), preoperative low tone (250 + 500
Hz) average (p=0.328), or preoperative pure tone average (p=0.896). Similarly, there was no statistical difference between
postoperative AzBio scores between CUNY scoring groups (p=0.123, Cohen’s d = 0.650).
Conclusions: Preoperative visual-assisted CUNY scores were not associated with postoperative CI AzBio scores. Further,
larger investigations are required to determine role of multisensory processing in CI speech perception.
Professional Practice Gaps: As many potential candidates pursue cochlear implantation, identifying good candidates for
CI is imperative.
Learning
Objectives: Responses to visual may not predict postoperative CI performance
Desired
Results: Patients with hearing loss often utilize visual cues for communication. The effect of patient multisensory
processing capacity on postoperative CI results is yet to be determined.
Level of Evidence: V
IRB: Indiana University IRB #13133 (approved 10/8/2021)