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77th Annual Meeting of the German Society of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology, Head and Neck Surgery

German Society of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology, Head and Neck Surgery

24.05. - 28.05.2006, Mannheim

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Comparison of “Every Day Listening Questionnaire” Results with objective Speech Test Data with the HiRes Cochlear Implant

Vergleichende Untersuchung alltäglicher Hörsituationen und objektive Testdaten bei Nutzern des HiRes-Systems

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  • corresponding author presenting/speaker Beate Krüger - Medical University of Hannover, Department of Otolaryngology, Hannover, Germany
  • Martina Brendel - Medical University of Hannover, Department of Otolaryngology, Hannover, Germany
  • Carolin Frohne-Büchner - Advanced Bionics GmbH, Hannover, Germany
  • Anke Lesinski-Schiedat - Medical University of Hannover, Department of Otolaryngology, Hannover, Germany
  • Andreas Büchner - Medical University of Hannover, Department of Otolaryngology, Hannover, Germany
  • Thomas Lenarz - Medical University of Hannover, Department of Otolaryngology, Hannover, Germany

German Society of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery. 77th Annual Meeting of the German Society of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery. Mannheim, 24.-28.05.2006. Düsseldorf, Köln: German Medical Science; 2006. Doc06hno019

The electronic version of this article is the complete one and can be found online at: http://www.egms.de/en/meetings/hno2006/06hno019.shtml

Published: September 7, 2006

© 2006 Krüger et al.
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/deed.en). You are free: to Share – to copy, distribute and transmit the work, provided the original author and source are credited.

Outline

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Introduction: Over the last decades, the cochlear implant technology had advanced greatly, resulting in continued improvements for cochlear implant patients. Most people with cochlear implants today have get back much of their oral communication abilities. There exist very few studies documenting how well cochlear implant users perform in “every day listening” situations, since most rehabilitation testing are in a clinical situation.

Methods: The survey implemented at the MHH investigated how well people with cochlear implant do in real life situation. A “House-Ear-Questionnaire” was enhanced to the HiRes90K and the CII-System of Advanced Bionics. Four areas of interest were assessed using the “Every day listening survey” one time after clinical check up: telephone use, music appreciation, social activities and professional interactions. In addition, subjects were asked whether they use any accessories to enhance their speech understanding and comfort of use. Thirty participants took part in the study. They were at minimum 18 years old and had at least six months experience with the cochlear implant. Eight used a body worn processor (PSP) and 22 a behind-the-ear-processor (BTE).

Results: Main motivation for an implantation was the hope for a better speech understanding in daily and/or social situations. In the objective test data and in the results of the questionnaire it was seen that those hopes were mainly accomplished at least in quiet surroundings, while there were still some difficulties in understanding in more challenging circumstances.

Subjects with BTE processors manly used the T-Mic in an every day listening situation, while other accessories were seldom of interest. Those using a PSP sometimes used FM-Systems or telephone adapters to enhance their understanding in more difficult listening situations like group meeting or on the telephone.

Conclusions: These results are important for the development of new accessories. Faster and easier connects to BTE or smaller accessories for the PSP would mean greater freedom and wearing comfort for the CI-users.