2022 Volume 43 Issue 3 Pages 305-312
The target age for pediatric cochlear implant surgery has been decreasing over the years, but a certain percentage of cochlear implant surgeries are still performed in children older than 4 years; it is unclear why the surgeries were delayed. We investigated the background in children who underwent cochlear implant surgery at the age of 4 years or older at our hospital between 2000 and 2019. The backgrounds leading to the delayed surgery were categorized into “early surgery was possible,” “the indication of surgery was difficult to determine,” and “surgery was delayed due to etiology.” Comparing the backgrounds in the recent 10 years with those in previous 10 years, the percentage of cases whose surgery was delayed due to etiology has remained almost unchanged, while the percentage of cases in which the surgical indication was difficult to determine has decreased and that of cases in which early surgery was possible has increased. In order to promote appropriate early cochlear implantation, it will be necessary to continue to actively educate the public about the importance of early diagnosis of hearing loss and the subsequent decision on the indications of cochlear implants.
