Cochlear implantation as a durable tinnitus treatment in single-sided deafness

Abstract

CI can successfully be used as treatment of severe tinnitus in patients with single-sided deafness and is equally effective for pure tone, narrow band noise, and polyphonic tinnitus. Long-term results show that implantation provides durable tinnitus relief in these patients. These results support the hypothesis that physiopathological mechanisms after peripheral deafferentation are reversible when hearing is restored. Single-sided deafness accompanied by severe tinnitus is a new indication for CI.