Central auditory development in children with bilateral cochlear implants.

OBJECTIVE To examine the time course of maturation of P1 latencies in infant sequential and simultaneous bilateral cochlear implant recipients. DESIGN Retrospective case series. SETTING Pediatric collaborative cochlear implant program. PATIENTS Four children who received bilateral cochlear implants prior to age 2 years. INTERVENTION Cortical auditory evoked potential was completed to determine the latency of the P1 response in 4 children with bilateral cochlear implants. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Longitudinal development of the latency of the P1 cortical auditory evoked potential in children who received bilateral cochlear implants prior to age 2 years. RESULTS In 2 patients who received sequential bilateral implants, P1 latencies recorded from the first implanted ear were within normal limits after 3 to 6 months of implant use. By comparison, P1 latencies from the second implanted ear reached normal limits as early as 1 month after implant use. In 2 patients who received simultaneous bilateral implants, P1 latencies from both ears were also within normal limits in a very short time frame (ie, by 1 month poststimulation). CONCLUSIONS Our data suggest a high degree of plasticity of the central auditory pathways after early bilateral implantation. We find that P1 latencies provide a clinically useful biomarker of central auditory system development in children after cochlear implantation.