Effects of different morphological types of enlarged vestibular aqueduct on clinical onset and cochlear implantation

The study investigated the influence of different morphological features of enlarged vestibular aqueduct (EVA) on clinical onset and speech rehabilitation outcomes in children undergoing cochlear implantation. Eighty-one children with EVA were analyzed, including 56 with symmetric hearing loss and 25 with asymmetric hearing loss. Researchers measured the aperture angle and length of the vestibular aqueduct and monitored postoperative speech development over 1 to 6 years. The early-onset hearing loss group showed larger aperture angles and shorter aqueduct lengths compared to the late-onset group. Postoperative speech outcomes improved over time in both groups; however, the early-onset group consistently achieved lower scores across all four speech evaluation metrics. A wider and shallower vestibular aqueduct increases children's susceptibility to inner ear damage caused by intracranial pressure fluctuations.