OBJECTIVES: This paper aims to determine the length of time before a cochlear implantee would reach aided hearing threshold of < 45 dBHL at 5 frequencies (target threshold) and whether there is a difference depending on age of implantation and sex.
METHODS: From January 2009 to February 2011, the aided earing thresholds of 41 prelingually deaf children with cochlear implants after switch on were reviewed.
RESULTS: There were 21 males and 20 females. Majority of children 7 years old reached it at < 1 month. The probability that a female would reach the target threshold on or before 6 months was 90% but this was not statistically significant.
CONCLUSION: Sixty-six percent of the children with cochlear nplants reached the target threshold within the first 3 months post fitting and 80% within the first 6 months post fitting. More of the older children reached target threshold earlier than the younger children. There was a trend that more females reached the target threshold earlier than the males but this was not statistically significant.