A new comprehensive cochlear implant questionnaire for measuring quality of life after sequential bilateral cochlear implantation.
OBJECTIVE
To develop a comprehensive cochlear implant questionnaire (CCIQ) as a tool for assessing changes in quality of life (QoL) after receiving a second cochlear implant (CI2) and to correlate the QoL with speech perception changes after CI2.


METHODS
Retrospective case series with planned data collection.


METHODS
Academic cochlear implant center.


METHODS
Ninety-eight English-speaking adults who received CI2 between 2000 and 2011.


METHODS
CCIQ is a 28-item, 5-point Likert-scale questionnaire that assesses the physical and psychosocial benefits of CI2.


METHODS
Test-retest reliability and Cronbach's alpha internal consistency were used to assess the reliability of the CCIQ. Speech perception was tested using CNC and HINT.


RESULTS
Fifty-four patients completed the CCIQ, and 26 were retested. Respondents reported a subjective improvement in all domains. Test-retest reliability was satisfactory, with 64% of items achieving an intraclass correlation coefficient of greater than 0.6. Internal consistency reliability was excellent for the overall measure and was satisfactory for 6 of 9 subdomains. Speech perception data were available for 22 patients. Average CNC scores improved 13 ± 16%, and HINT scores improved 42 ± 16%. No statistically significant correlation was found between QoL scores and audiometric data or duration of CI2 use.


CONCLUSIONS
Our preliminary data indicate that this CCIQ is a promising tool in assessing QoL specific to CI2 patients. Overall, patients reported improved QoL, independent of speech perception scores. Further refinements of the questionnaire with larger patient numbers are needed to strengthen the CCIQ.
*New York Eye and Ear Infirmary, Department of Otolaryngology, New York, New York; †University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, Newark, New Jersey; and ‡New York Medical College, Valhalla, New York, U.S.A.
Nancy
N
King
Edmund A
EA
Nahm
Penny
P
Liberatos
Qiuhu
Q
Shi
Ana H
AH
Kim
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D019929:Cochlear Implantation; D003054:Cochlear Implants; D005260:Female; D034381:Hearing Loss / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D011788:Quality of Life; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D013067:Speech Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D016896:Treatment Outcome