In a recent study, Mahendran and colleagues (2021) sought to compare the rates of cochlear implant (CI) referral and implantation across different races and to compare audiometric profiles of the patients via retrospective analysis.
Demographic and audiometric data were collected for 504 patients between 2010–2020 who underwent CI evaluation or implantation. Of those, 388 met CI candidacy criteria and 258 received a cochlear implant. Of those referred for CI evaluation, approximately 69 percent were White, 19 percent were Black and 12 percent were Asian. Interestingly, the institution’s (academic tertiary care institution) service area is 47 percent White, 42 percent Black and 8 percent Asian.
Black patients referred for CI evaluation had significantly worse hearing and word recognition scores than White patients and Asian patients. Black patients who underwent CI evaluation also had significantly worse AzBio scores than White patients.
The authors concluded that Black patients undergo CI evaluation and implantation at rates disproportionately lower than expected based on local demographics. Black patients also have significantly worse hearing at the time of CI referral than White and Asian patients.
Identifying and increasing awareness of these disparities are essential steps to improving cochlear implant access for disadvantaged populations.
Reference
Mahendran GN, Rosenbluth T, Featherstone M, et al. (2021) Racial disparities in adult cochlear implantation. Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 165(1).
Related Posts
Honoring Our Service Members: Supporting Our Veterans
This Memorial Day, we honor those service members who have died in military service in the United States. The day was originally called Decoration Day, so named for the tradition of decorating graves with wreaths, flowers, and flags commemorating those who have passed on. While the day was widely observed after the Civil War, and…
Exploring New Sounds with the World’s Largest Trees
What does one of the world’s largest lifeforms sound like? That was a question Ari Daniel asked on a recent National Public Radio (NPR) “All Things Considered” episode. Pando is a quaking aspen tree that has spread to cover over 80 football fields in Fishlake National Forest, Utah. While Pando may resemble a forest, what…
Mental Health, Quality of Life, and Communication in Children Diagnosed with Hearing Loss
Based on parent and teacher report, the prevalence of mental health problems is twice to four times higher in children diagnosed with hearing loss when compared to those peers without a hearing loss. Interestingly, children who are Deaf and hard-of-hearing (D/hh) and hard-of-hearing (HH) typically do not rate themselves as having significantly higher mental health…