Cochlear implantation following temporal bone fracture

Seven cases of profound hearing impairment following either unilateral or b ilateral temporal bone fracture are presented who were implanted with the N ucleus 22 channel or Ineraid devices. Six patients suffered bilateral tempo ral bone fractures. One patient had prior congenital unilateral profound he aring impairment. This patient suffered a unilateral temporal bone fracture . Six patients became regular users of their implants. One gained little be nefit and became a non-user. Two of the regular users experienced facial ne rve stimulation, which could not be programmed out. In these two cases the implant was removed and the contralateral ear successfully implanted. Impla nt-aided audiometry demonstrated a hearing threshold of 40-50 dB at nine mo nths after switch-on. The reliability of computed tomography (CT) scanning in predicting cochlear patency in cases of temporal bone fracture will be d iscussed. The benefit of complimentary imaging with magnetic resonance (MR) is highlighted.