The Impact of Postmeningitic Labyrinthitis Ossificans on Speech Performance After Pediatric Cochlear Implantation

OBJECTIVE:: 1) To characterize pediatric cochlear implant performance in patients with hearing loss secondary to bacterial meningitis. 2) To evaluate performance differences in patients with and without labyrinthitis ossificans (LO). STUDY DESIGN:: Retrospective case review. SETTING:: A large university-based multidisciplinary cochlear implant program. PATIENTS:: Forty-nine patients with hearing loss from bacterial meningitis who received cochlear implants from 1991 to 2011. Thirty-nine patients had adequate data for analysis. INTERVENTION:: Cochlear implantation with postoperative performance evaluation. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S):: Speech perception category (SPC). RESULTS:: Nineteen (48.7%) patients had intraoperative evidence of LO. Fourteen patients (70.0%) without LO compared with seven (36.8%) with LO developed open-set speech after implantation. There was a trend toward better postimplant SPC outcomes in patients without LO that did not reach statistical significance (p?=?0.17). The presence of LO negatively correlated with classroom placement (p?