Single-sided deaf tactical unit officer treated with cochlear implantation.

OBJECTIVES: To demonstrate the efficacy of cochlear implantation for management of a severe single-sided deaf tactical unit officer. Showing that hearing improvement provided by cochlear implantation was sufficient for him to return to work as a police tactical officer.

METHODS: Case report.

RESULTS: A 43 years-old man working as a tactical unit officer suffered from a work-related severe single-sided hearing loss. He tried unsuccessfully many types of hearing aids including a contralateral routing of sound (CROS) system and a bone conduction hearing aid with a headband. He was finally treated with cochlear implantation which provided enough localization and hearing abilities for a complete return to work as a tactical unit officer.

DISCUSSION: This case report demonstrates that cochlear implantation was very successful for a patient suffering from severe single-sided hearing loss. The current literature demonstrates benefits from cochlear implant over CROS and osseointegrated devices in unilateral hearing loss. Nevertheless, literature does not report any case of patient suffering from single-sided deafness that received a cochlear implant and a complete bilateral hearing rehabilitation that allowed him to return to work as a police tactical officer.

CONCLUSION: Cochlear implantation was the only effective treatment to provide our patient enough localization and hearing abilities for a complete return to work as a police tactical officer. As no consensus has been established about selection criteria for cochlear implantation in single-sided deafness, we suggest that the patient's occupation should be considered when reviewing his candidacy for cochlear implantation.