Users' experience of a cochlear implant combined with a hearing aid.
This study examined: (1) the prevalence of hearing-aid use in a clinical population of adults with unilateral cochlear implants, (2) the relationship between hearing-aid use, severity of hearing loss, duration of deafness and duration of cochlear implant use, and (3) the benefits of bimodal hearing from the users' perspective. Using a retrospective design, 31 adults were identified as bimodal users, and 93 adults implanted in the same period were identified as non hearing-aid users. The two groups were similar in regards to duration of deafness but differed in severity of hearing loss and time since implantation. Questionnaires examining frequency and situations of hearing-aid use were completed by 24 of 31 bimodal users. Fifteen of these 24 adults reported hearing-aid use more than 50% of the time. These findings suggest that, of the 72 adults in this study with useable hearing (pure-tone average better than 110 dB), about 30% or less regularly combined a hearing aid and cochlear implant. The questionnaire results suggest that regular bimodal users prefer bimodal hearing across a variety of listening environments such as music, noise, and reverberation.
Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Ottawa, 451 Smyth Road (3071), Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. elizabeth.fitzpatrick@uottawa.ca
Elizabeth Mary
EM
Fitzpatrick
Christiane
C
Séguin
David
D
Schramm
Josée
J
Chenier
Shelly
S
Armstrong
D000161:Acoustic Stimulation; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001301:Audiometry, Pure-Tone; D001307:Auditory Perception; D003054:Cochlear Implants / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004777:Environment; D005260:Female; D006310:Hearing Aids / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D034381:Hearing Loss / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D011877:Radionuclide Imaging; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013017:Sound Localization; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult