Table 1.
Demographic and audiometric characteristics of CI and AIBL participants at baseline, 18-, 36-, and 54-month follow-up.
| CI Participants | AIBL Participants | CI vs. AIBL (p-Value) | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baseline | 18 Months | 36 Months | 54 Months | Baseline | 18 Months | 36 Months | ||||
| Age (years) | ||||||||||
| n | 101 | 54 | 37 | 25 | 100 | 47 | 17 | |||
| Mean | 73.18 | 74.97 | 75.01 | 76.07 | 74.39 | 75.21 | 77.31 | 0.118 | 0.812 | 0.064 |
| Median | 72.7 | 74.3 | 74.4 | 75.7 | 74.5 | 74.9 | 77.4 | |||
| S.D. | 6.6 | 6.2 | 5.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 3.8 | 3.6 | |||
| Min | 61.3 | 63.3 | 64.8 | 69.0 | 67.0 | 68.4 | 71.4 | |||
| Max | 90.1 | 91.7 | 84.8 | 83.0 | 84.8 | 83.0 | 84.0 | |||
| BPTA | ||||||||||
| n | 96 | 45 | 18 | 15 | 100 | 36 | 16 | |||
| Mean | 76.93 | 81.75 | 75.97 | 75.17 | 20.96 | 21.46 | 22.66 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Median | 77.5 | 82.5 | 77.5 | 81.2 | 21.2 | 20.6 | 21.9 | |||
| SD | 18.8 | 20.6 | 21.8 | 19.4 | 8.4 | 8.5 | 7.8 | |||
| Min | 27.5 | 42.5 | 47.5 | 48.8 | 3.8 | 6.2 | 8.8 | |||
| Max | 118.8 | 130 | 116.2 | 103.8 | 43.8 | 40 | 33.8 | |||
| WPTA | ||||||||||
| n | 96 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100 | 36 | 16 | |||
| Mean | 98.78 | 25.65 | 25.97 | 27.03 | 0.000 | |||||
| Median | 96.2 | 25 | 25.6 | 26.9 | ||||||
| SD | 15.5 | 11.2 | 8.7 | 8.8 | ||||||
| Min | 63.8 | 8.8 | 13.8 | 11.2 | ||||||
| HUI-3 Hearing disability | ||||||||||
| n | 97 | 53 | 36 | 20 | ||||||
| Mean | 0.44 | 0.62 | 0.58 | 0.67 | ||||||
| Median | 0.3 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 0.7 | ||||||
| SD | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.1 | ||||||
| Min | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.3 | ||||||
| Max | 0.9 | 1 | 0.7 | 0.7 | ||||||
| Normal hearing | ||||||||||
| n | 96 | 45 | 18 | 15 | 100 | 36 | 16 | |||
| No. (%) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 47 (47) | 18 (50) | 8 (50) | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.002 |
| Female | ||||||||||
| n | 101 | 54 | 37 | 25 | 100 | 47 | 17 | |||
| No. (%) | 42 (41.6) | 22 (40.7) | 19 (51.4) | 10 (40.0) | 55 (55.0) | 27 (57.4) | 10 (58.8) | 0.057 | 0.096 | 0.619 |
| Education > 15 years | ||||||||||
| n | 98 | 54 | 37 | 25 | 100 | 47 | 17 | |||
| No. (%) | 48 (49.0) | 29 (53.7) | 17 (45.9) | 14 (56.0) | 72 (72.0) | 27 (57.4) | 10 (58.8) | 0.001 | 0.709 | 0.392 |
| Cardiovascular condition | ||||||||||
| n | 97 | 53 | 36 | 19 | 95 | 33 | 12 | |||
| No. (%) | 73 (75.3) | 39 (73.6) | 26 (72.2) | 15 (78.9) | 44 (46.3) | 17 (51.5) | 7 (58.3) | 0.00 | 0.044 | 0.417 |
| Ever smoker | ||||||||||
| n | 97 | 15 | 13 | 19 | 47 | 26 | 9 | |||
| No. (%) | 37 (38.1) | 5 (33.3) | 1 (7.7) | 5 (26.3) | 17 (36.2) | 10 (38.5) | 1 (11.1) | 0.820 | 0.750 | 0.804 |
| 1 apolipoprotein E (APOE) ε4 allele | ||||||||||
| n | 59 | 46 | 34 | 25 | 99 | 46 | 17 | |||
| No. (%) | 17 (28.8) | 11 (23.9) | 8 (23.5) | 6 (24) | 28 (28.3) | 16 (34.8) | 4 (23.5) | 0.944 | 0.257 | 1.00 |
| 2 apolipoprotein E (APOE) ε4 alleles | ||||||||||
| n | 59 | 46 | 34 | 25 | 99 | 46 | 17 | |||
| No. (%) | 3 (5.1) | 2 (4.3) | 1 (2.9) | 0 (0) | 1 (1.0) | 1 (2.2) | 0 (0) | 0.187 | 0.562 | 0.325 |
| Diabetes | ||||||||||
| n | 97 | 53 | 36 | 20 | 96 | 32 | 11 | |||
| No. (%) | 14 (14.4) | 9 (17) | 4 (11.1) | 3 (15) | 5 (5.2) | 2 (6.2) | 2 (18.2) | 0.031 | 0.117 | 0.603 |
| Falls | ||||||||||
| n | 97 | 53 | 36 | 20 | 96 | 33 | 11 | |||
| No. (%) | 14 (14.4) | 9 (17.0) | 4 (11.1) | 1 (5.0) | 7 (7.3) | 3 (9.1) | 3 (27.3) | 0.112 | 0.281 | 0.303 |
| Living arrangements | ||||||||||
| Own or rented home with spouse/others | ||||||||||
| n | 98 | 54 | 37 | 25 | 97 | 46 | 16 | |||
| No. (%) | 69 (70.4) | 37 (68.5) | 25 (67.6) | 20 (80) | 73 (75.3) | 36 (78.3) | 12 (75) | 0.449 | 0.274 | 0.590 |
| Own or rented home alone | ||||||||||
| n | 98 | 54 | 37 | 25 | 97 | 46 | 16 | |||
| No. (%) | 21 (21.4) | 13 (24.1) | 9 (24.3) | 5 (20) | 24 (24.7) | 10 (21.7) | 4 (25) | 0.585 | 0.784 | 0.960 |
| Residential aged care | ||||||||||
| n | 98 | 54 | 37 | 25 | 97 | 46 | 16 | |||
| No. (%) | 1 (1) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0.320 | ||
| Home of relative | ||||||||||
| n | 98 | 54 | 37 | 25 | 97 | 46 | 16 | |||
| No. (%) | 2 (2) | 1 (1.9) | 1 (2.7) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0.158 | 0.322 | 0.324 |
| Other (retirement village, motor home) | ||||||||||
| n | 98 | 54 | 37 | 25 | 97 | 46 | 16 | |||
| No. (%) | 5 (5.1) | 3 (5.6) | 2 (5.4) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0.025 | 0.083 | 0.160 |
| Living alone | ||||||||||
| n | 98 | 54 | 37 | 25 | 97 | 46 | 16 | |||
| No. (%) | 21 (21.4) | 13 (24.1) | 9 (24.3) | 5 (20.0) | 24 (24.7) | 10 (21.7) | 4 (25.0) | 0.585 | 0.784 | 0.960 |
| Anxiety | ||||||||||
| n | 97 | 53 | 36 | 20 | 95 | 33 | 11 | |||
| No. (%) | 18 (18.6) | 4 (7.5) | 3 (8.3) | 1 (5.0) | 7 (7.4) | 3 (9.1) | 1 (9.1) | 0.021 | 0.806 | 0.942 |
| Socially isolated | ||||||||||
| n | 78 | 53 | 36 | 20 | ||||||
| No. (%) | 0 (0) | 1 (1.9) | 1 (2.8) | 0 (0) | ||||||
| Depression | ||||||||||
| n | 97 | 53 | 36 | 20 | 96 | 32 | 11 | |||
| No. (%) | 13 (13.4) | 3 (5.7) | 2 (5.6) | 0 (0) | 7 (7.3) | 0 (0) | 2 (18.2) | 0.165 | 0.083 | 0.343 |
| Retired | ||||||||||
| n | 98 | 52 | 35 | 19 | 96 | 33 | 12 | |||
| No. (%) | 77 (78.6) | 47 (90.4) | 33 (94.3) | 16 (84.2) | 85 (88.5) | 31 (93.9) | (100.0) | 0.061 | 0.549 | 0.160 |
Notes: As some CI participants had no measurable hearing at baseline, the number of participants with audiometric data is lower than the total sample size. Participants were implanted in ear with worse hearing. Post-operative hearing was not tested in the implanted ear, as it is unclear whether electrical and acoustic hearing thresholds are equivalent. Bold denotes significant differences (p < 0.05; significant at the 5% confidence level). Abbreviations: SD, standard deviation. BPTA: better ear pure tone average, dB hearing level. WPTA: worse ear pure tone average, dB hearing level. PTA ≤ than 20 dB hearing level.