Auditory capabilities of single-channel cochlear implant patients. Etiologic considerations.

The clinical audiometric test results from 53 postlingually deafened adults using the House single-channel cochlear implant were analyzed according to cause of deafness (otosclerosis, ototoxic drugs, meningitis, and trauma). With the exception of one measure, the routine clinical tests did not show a relationship between cause of deafness and performance with the cochlear implant. These findings suggest that, clinically, the single-channel cochlear implant is a viable prosthesis for patients with a wide variety of causes of deafness.