Long-Term Impedance Trend in Cochlear Implant Users with Genetically Determined Congenital Profound Hearing Loss

Background Impedance is a basic parameter registered at any cochlear implant (CI) fitting section. It is useful in monitoring electrode functioning and the status of the surrounding anatomical structures. Purpose The main aim of this study is to evaluate the 5-year impedance-value trend in patients affected by congenital genetically determined profound hearing loss implanted with Cochlear Nucleus devices. Research Design Observational, retrospective, monocentric study. Study Sample Twenty-seven consecutive patients (9 females: 12.0 +/- 7.6 years old; range: 4.2-40.4) with genetic diagnosis of GJB2 mutation causing congenital profound hearing loss who underwent cochlear implantation from 2010 to 2020 with good auditory benefit. Intervention Impedance values of the CIs were obtained from the CIs' programming software that registers those parameters for each follow-up section of each patient. Data Collection and Analysis Impedance values were measured over time (activation, 6, 12, 24, and 60 months after cochlear implantation), for each of the 22 electrodes, in common ground, monopolar 1, monopolar 2, and monopolar 1 + 2 stimulation modes. Results A significant variation was found between CI activation and 6-month follow-up. This difference was found for each of the 22 electrodes. Electrodes 1 to 4 showed higher impedance values compared with all other electrodes in each time interval. Repeated-measures analysis of variance ruled out significant variations in impedance values from 6-month to 5-year follow-up. Conclusions Impedance values were extremely stable after activation, at least for the first 5 years. In these cases, even minimal impedance variations should be carefully evaluated for their possible implications on hearing performance.