Effects of a global pandemic on access to cochlear implantation in children with congenital hearing loss.

OBJECTIVES

To highlight the impact of COVID-19 on the timeline from diagnosis to cochlear implantation (CI) for children with congenital hearing loss (HL) at a diverse multidisciplinary cochlear implant center.

METHODS

A retrospective chart review was completed for congenitally deafened children (n = 102) age 0-18 years who underwent first ear CI at our clinic. Patients were stratified into pre- (n = 49) and post- (n = 53) COVID-19 pandemic groups for analysis. Most patients were male (54.9 %), Hispanic (62.7 %), White (72.5 %), and had Medicaid/Managed care insurance (67.6 %). Over half listed English as their primary language (55.9 %) followed by Spanish (38.2 %). Most had an etiology of HL due to hereditary/genetic factors (73.6 %).

RESULTS

Initial analyses between demographic factors (e.g., ethnicity, primary language) and outcome variables revealed no significant differences. No significant differences were found in pre- and post-COVID groups in time between HL evaluation and CI evaluation, time between HL evaluation and first ear CI, and in mean age at first ear CI between the pre- and post-COVID groups. Interestingly, differences in time between first HL evaluation at our clinic and second ear CI surgery pre- and post-COVID were found, with patients pre-COVID undergoing their second CI surgery approximately 7 months later than the patients post-COVID (M = 17.66 months, SD = 15.66; M = 10.76, SD = 10.62).

CONCLUSION

COVID-19 did not negatively impact our timeline from diagnosis to CI for children with congenital HL. In fact, time between 1st and 2nd sequential CI improved post-COVID and provided quicker access to binaural hearing. Additionally, our English and Spanish speaking groups had equitable access pre- and post-COVID to audiological and HL treatment services regardless of preferred language. Overall, actions taken to minimize the impact of COVID restrictions allowed our clinic to maintain and, in some areas, improve access to CI for children with congenital HL from a diverse patient population.