Long-term maintenance costs incurred by the families of pediatric cochlear implant recipients in Malaysia

Introduction Cochlear implant (CI) requires lifelong financial commitments to ensure that the devices always operate optimally. Objective We estimated the long-term maintenance costs of CI including repair of speech processors, replacement of damaged parts, and battery requirements. Results Forty-one parents of children who received CIs in Malaysian government hospitals were enrolled. The first 2 years of CI usage were covered by warranty. The cost increased three-fold from by 4 years of CI usage and then doubled by 8 years of usage. About 75% of parents commented that the costs were burdensome. Conclusion Our findings will be useful for parents whose children receive CI and will allow medical personnel to counsel the parents about the costs.