Should a Hearing Aid in the Contralateral Ear Be Recommended for Children with a Unilateral Cochlear Implant?

Abstract

Preoperatively available audiometric parameters are not reliable predictors of bimodal benefit in candidates for cochlear implantation. Children with unilateral implants benefit from bimodal fitting on speech tests. This improvement in performance warrants the recommendation of bimodal fitting even when bimodal benefit cannot be predicted.