Cochlear Implantation Outcomes in Patients With Migraine.

OBJECTIVE

To determine how migraine may impact cochlear implantation (CI) outcomes and experience.

STUDY

DESIGN

Retrospective case-control study.

SETTING

Multi-institutional.

PATIENTS: Adults who underwent CI after 2006 with a coexisting diagnosis of migraine and age and sex-matched controls.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Speech perception outcomes using postoperative Consonant-Nucleus-Consonant (CNC) and AzBio in quiet scores, daily device usage, dizziness, tinnitus, narcotic requirements, and patient-provider postoperative communications.

RESULTS

The study included 208 patients with a mean age of 59 years, 70% female. Migraineurs were more likely to have preoperative dizziness (61% vs. 32%, P =0.003) and postoperative tinnitus (55% vs. 27%, P =0.02). They had higher rates of postoperative questions requiring communication with their provider (1.3±1.9 vs. 0.38±0.80, P =0.006). There was no statistically significant difference in postoperative dizziness when excluding those with preoperative dizziness (45% vs. 25%, P =0.06), admission rate, narcotic refills, or daily implant usage. For the migraine and nonmigraine groups, respectively, there were no differences in postoperative CNC scores or AzBio scores.

CONCLUSIONS

In cochlear implant recipients, those with migraine had similar postoperative speech perception scores and device usage compared with nonmigraineurs. However, migraineurs had lower rates of tinnitus resolution after implantation, relevant to patient counseling. They communicated with their providers more frequently in the postoperative period.