COMPARATIVE LONGITUDINAL ANALYSIS OF AUDITORY LOCALIZATION AND SPEECH PERCEPTION IN CHILDREN WITH BILATERAL VERSUS UNILATERAL COCHLEAR IMPLANTS

Cochlear implantation has significantly transformed auditory rehabilitation in children with severe-to-profound sensorineural hearing loss. While unilateral cochlear implantation offers access to sound, bilateral implantation aims to restore binaural hearing, thereby enhancing spatial auditory processing and speech perception in complex listening environments. This longitudinal comparative study investigated differences in auditory localization and speech perception abilities between pediatric bilateral and unilateral cochlear implant users. Standardized assessment tools including BKB-SIN, CAP, MAIS, MUSS, and SIR were employed. Results demonstrated that bilateral cochlear implant users significantly outperformed unilateral users across all auditory domains, particularly in noisy conditions. Functional communication outcomes were also superior in the bilateral group. These findings strongly support early bilateral implantation in pediatric populations to optimize auditory and communicative development.