Pitfalls in the management of monaural deafness.

OBJECTIVE

We report a patient who underwent cochlear implantation in an ear with long-term deafness, after an acoustic neuroma had been removed surgically from the other, hitherto good ear and the cochlear nerve had subsequently been resected to relieve severe tinnitus.

METHOD: Case report.

RESULTS

The patient could not tolerate the cochlear implant, because of a moderate headache due to the stimulation level necessary for environmental sound discrimination.

CONCLUSION

Cochlear implantation in patients with long-term deafness should be considered carefully, even if deafness is monaural.