Abstract:Objective To explore the differential impact of simultaneous versus staged bilateral cochlear implantation on the quality of life of hearing-impaired children, aiming to provide a basis for formulating clinical treatment strategies. Methods A retrospective study was conducted on 140 hearing-impaired children who underwent BCI at the Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Shanghai Children’s Hospital, between January 2023 and January 2025. According to the implantation methods, they were divided into the simultaneous implantation group and the staged implantation group, with 70 cases in each group. Basic information about the children and their parents was collected using a general information questionnaire. The children’s quality of life was assessed using the deaf children’s quality of life scale (DCQOL). Results The scores in physiological function, emotional function, social function, the common module for disabled children, the specific module for hearing-impaired children, and the total DCQOL score of the simultaneous implantation group were significantly higher than those of the staged implantation group (P<0.05). No significant difference was observed between the two groups in the role function dimension (P>0.05). Age segmentation showed that there was only an intergroup difference in the specific module and total score for hearing-impaired children between the two groups of 5-7 children. Children aged ≥ 8 who underwent simultaneous implantation in all dimensions were significantly better than those who underwent staged implantation (P<0.05). Conclusions Simultaneous BCI is generally superior to staged BCI in improving the quality of life of hearing-impaired children, with particularly comprehensive benefits observed in children aged 8 years and above. Clinically, BCI can be given priority, and systematic postoperative rehabilitation training should be emphasized.