Auditory comprehension outcomes in children who receive a cochlear implant before 12 months of age

Objective The U.S. Food and Drug Administration guidelines for cochlear implantation (CI) include age greater than 12 months. Studies have suggested that implantation in children younger than 12 months with congenital deafness may be associated with better spoken language outcomes. Compare auditory comprehension (AC) outcomes for children with congenital deafness who received CI less than 12 months of age to those implanted at 12 to 24 months of age. Methods Retrospective review of prospectively collected data in consecutively implanted patients under 2 years of age who received CI and had post‐CI Preschool Language Scale (PLS)‐AC scores. Receptive language was assessed with the AC subtest of the PLS. Patients without pre‐CI PLS‐AC scores were excluded. The association between age at implantation and post‐CI PLS‐AC scores up to 2 years after CI surgery was modeled using a linear mixed‐effects model. Time from CI surgery, number of implants, risk factors for language delay, pre‐CI PLS‐AC score, and sex were included in the model. Patients implanted less than 12 months of age were compared to those implanted between 12 and 24 months. Results Twenty‐nine patients who had CI surgery by 12 months and 82 who had CI surgery between 12 and 24 months were included in the analysis. Younger age at implantation and better pre‐CI PLS‐AC scores were significantly associated with better post‐CI PLS‐AC scores. Conclusion Cochlear implantation in children with congenital deafness less than 12 months of age was associated with better PLS‐AC than in children implanted over 12 months of age up to 2 years after implantation. Level of Evidence 4 Laryngoscope, 130:776–781, 2020