Postlingual Patients Research Articles

Satisfaction and employment of adult patients after cochlear implantation

Introduction There are more than 465 million people worldwide living with some form of hearing impairment, with one-third of them over the age of 65. In the EU, there are 34.4 million adults with a hearing loss of 35 dB or more. Studies in a series of European countries show that two out of three Europeans, or more than 22.6 million people, do not treat their impairment. With a steadily ageing population that is living longer, and with hearing loss due to increased noise exposure starting earlier, this growth will increase even more in the coming years. Projections suggest that by 2050, more than 900 million people will have a disabling loss. (WHO: Deafness and Hearing Loss Factsheet March 2018 http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/ fs300/en/Accessed 9 Mar 2018) This poses major challenges for both society and the individual. Hearing impairment can lead to social isolation, depression, cessation of employment, and a range of co-morbidities. Cochlear implants are medical devices that can help restore hearing in people with severe to profound neurosensory hearing loss. For children, this includes normal speech development and language acquisition at a rate similar to their hearing peers. For adults, this allows many to remain economically and socially active, reducing the significant societal burden and costs that an undiagnosed and untreated hearing impairment can bring. Purpose The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of cochlear implant placement on occupational opportunities, satisfaction and employment in postlingual patients.

Outcomes of Cochlear Implantation in Post-lingually Deaf Patients.

Cochlear implantation has been mentioned as the most effective therapeutic intervention in deaf patients and especially those with post-lingual deafness. We aimed to assess hearing improvement of post-lingually deaf patients after cochlear implantation. in this cross-sectional study all the post-lingually deaf patients who had undergone cochlear implantation (CI) surgery between December 2010 and February 2016 were assessed. Patients were recalled and after explaining the study process and signing an informed consent form, an audiometry was done by a single audiologist. In addition, demographic information, cause of hearing loss, age of onset, history of hearing aid use and surgical complications were recorded in a pre-designed checklist. Twenty-nine male and 21 female with a mean age of 22.52±19.45 years underwent analysis. Most of patients (80%) had progressed condition since childhood. Sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL) was the most prevalent (10%) known etiology of deafness followed by meningitis (6%), Trauma (2%) and ototoxic drugs (2%) in the remaining 20% of the patients. Patients had the highest mean (37.1±12.61 dB) in 4000 Hz frequency and the lowest mean of hearing threshold level (32.6±8.37 dB) was for 1000 Hz frequency. Mean hearing threshold level was significantly lower in patients with lower ages of cochlear implantation (p=0.435). Patients with higher ages of deafness onset showed lower degree of hearing improvement (p=0.462). The results of our study suggest that cochlear implantation significantly improves hearing function of post-lingual patients and can be considered as a certain cure for these patients in Iran.

Bilateral cochlear implantation: simultaneous versus sequential

BackgroundBilateral cochlear implantation (BiCI) has been provided with an intent to promote binaural hearing and improve quality of life (QoL). Binaural hearing maximum benefit could be optimized with BiCI, when indicated in the early stages of life through preserving the cortical hearing development. Actually, BiCI benefits wide variables among patients, and in this work, we aimed to analyze the benefit of bilateral cochlear implantation over unilateral and the simultaneous over sequential implantation in peri- and post-lingual patients. The analysis based on common clinically used audiological tests such as aided hearing threshold and speech perception measures.ResultsThe results of the aided threshold and speech perception measures in all patients revealed a significantly better response in the bilateral implantations than in unilateral each implant separately. Overall, the best response was seen in the simultaneous bilateral group followed by sequential bilateral groups. In post-lingual patients, a better response was observed in sequential and similar bilateral than in sequential and different device groups with significant differences.Change of performance across time revealed aided threshold improvement of the from 3 to 6 months. In speech perception measures, the post-lingual group revealed significant improvement of high-context sentence test (HCST) scores from 3 to 6 months and 12 months. In the peri-lingual group, Early Speech Perception test (ESPT) revealed a change in performance with time at 3, 6, and 12 months. In addition, the simultaneous patient’s scores were significantly better than sequential similar patient’s scores.ConclusionThe main finding of our study was that bilateral cochlear implants (BiCI) are better than unilateral cochlear implant, and simultaneous BiCI is preferred than the sequential cochlear implant even after escaping the early stage of language development.

Neural Recovery Function of the Auditory Nerve in Cochlear Implant Surgery: Comparison between Prelingual and Postlingual Patients.

Introduction Cochlear implants (CIs) enable objective measures of the neural function in implanted patients through the measurements of the neural response telemetry (NRT) and of the Auditory nerve Recovery Function (REC). These measurements help in programming the speech processor and understanding the auditory system. Objective To compare the NRT and the REC in prelingual and postlingual implanted patients. Methods An observational, descriptive and prospective study was carried out. The NRT and the REC (through the T0, A, and tau parameters) were evaluated in individuals submitted to CI surgery, who were divided into two groups: prelingual and postlingual patients. Results In total, 46 patients were evaluated. Data analysis showed no statistically significant difference between the NRT measurements and the T0, A, and Tau of the REC in the comparison between the two groups, except for the NRT in the basal cochlear region. Conclusion There was no statistically significant difference in the REC in pre- and postlingual patients.

Discrimination of Rippled-Spectrum Signals by Prelingual and Postlingual Cochlear Implant Users

The correlation between ripple spectrum resolution and speech recognition in prelingual and postlingual cochlear implant users was analysed. The test signal had a band-limited rippled spectrum with a bandwidth of 2 octaves. The central frequency of the spectrum was 1, 2, or 4 kHz. The ripple phase reversion test of was used for estimation of ripple spectrum discrimination. A balanced test set of Russian worlds by Greenberg–Zinder was used for estimating the speech recognition. The average ripple discrimination thresholds were approximately 2 ripples/oct in both pre- and postlingual patients. The thresholds did not depend on the central frequency. The best correlation between speech recognition and rippled spectrum resolution was found in the prelingual patients with a perimodiolar electrode array (r = 0.85).

Ripple spectrum resolution by prelingual and postlingual cochlear implant users

The correlation between ripple spectrum resolution and speech recognition was investigated for prelingual and postlingual cochlear implant users. The test signal had a band limited rippled spectrum (spectrum with alternated maxima and minima of spectral power) with equivalent rectangular bandwidth of 1 oct. The central frequency of the spectrum was 1, 2, or 4 kHz. The principle of rippled-spectrum test was to find the maximum ripple density (ripples/octave) at which listeners could detect the phase reversion of the spectrum. A balanced test set of Russian worlds by Greenberg-Zinder was used for estimation of speech recognition. The average ripple discrimination thresholds were approximately 2 ripples/octave in both pre- and postlingual patients. The thresholds did not depend from central frequency. The best correlation between speech recognition and rippled spectrum resolution was found in prelingual patients with perimodiolar electrode array compared with straight array (r = 0.85). In postlingual patients, correlation was markedly lower (r = 0.44 and r = 0.13 for rippled-spectrum tests centered at 1 or 2 kHz, respectively). [Work supported by the Russian Science Foundation, Grant No. 16-15-10046.]The correlation between ripple spectrum resolution and speech recognition was investigated for prelingual and postlingual cochlear implant users. The test signal had a band limited rippled spectrum (spectrum with alternated maxima and minima of spectral power) with equivalent rectangular bandwidth of 1 oct. The central frequency of the spectrum was 1, 2, or 4 kHz. The principle of rippled-spectrum test was to find the maximum ripple density (ripples/octave) at which listeners could detect the phase reversion of the spectrum. A balanced test set of Russian worlds by Greenberg-Zinder was used for estimation of speech recognition. The average ripple discrimination thresholds were approximately 2 ripples/octave in both pre- and postlingual patients. The thresholds did not depend from central frequency. The best correlation between speech recognition and rippled spectrum resolution was found in prelingual patients with perimodiolar electrode array compared with straight array (r = 0.85). In postlingual patient...

Eficacia del implante coclear en la Clínica Visual y Auditiva del Instituto para Niños Ciegos y Sordos del Valle del Cauca


 Introducción: La hipoacusia neurosensorial es un problema de especial importancia para el desarrollo intelectual y social de los niños. De su detección temprana y tratamiento oportuno depende un mejor resultado en términos de la ganancia auditiva y logros en el desarrollo del lenguaje y por tanto, en la comunicación. Se estima una incidencia de hipoacusia entre uno a tres por mil nacidos vivos. Cuando se presenta en etapas tardías o en adultos jóvenes produce grandes trastornos en la vida familiar, académica o laboral de las personas. Los implantes cocleares son ahora una alternativa terapéutica de elección en personas que no se benefician de otras ayudas auditiva o con perdida profunda de su audición. Material y métodos: se realizó un estudio cuasi experimental tipo antes y después en 69 pacientes sometidos a implante coclear en el periodo 2013 a 2015 en el Instituto para niños ciegos y sordos del Valle. Todos los pacientes tenían un diagnóstico de hipoacusia de origen neurosensorial bilateral profunda. Se evaluaron, además de las variables socio demográficas, las relacionadas con audimetrías y valoraciones de lenguaje y habla realizadas por personal experto antes y después de la realización del implante. Resultados: El 51% de los pacientes recibieron el implante en etapa prelingual con una mediana de edad de tres años (rango 2 a 12) y 35 pacientes lo recibieron en etapa poslingual (mediana de edad 43 años, rango de 3 a 76). La ganancia en audición fue mayor en pacientes poslinguales pues el 88% alcanzaron un nivel cuatro que corresponde a comprensión del lenguaje hablado. En pacientes prelinguales se observó una mayor variabilidad en los resultados. Todas las diferencias en cuando a la ganancia en audición o niveles de habla fueron estadísticamente significativas. Conclusión: El implante coclear mejoró sustancialmente los niveles de audición y desarrollo del lenguaje en ambos grupos de pacientes. Los factores de mayor importancia pronostica fueron: duración de la hipoacusia, el momento de la aparición de la pérdida auditiva, el apoyo social y familiar y el tipo de rehabilitación realizado luego de la implantación. 

Retrospective analysis of auditory neuropathy patients after cochlear implantation

Objectives: To study an effects on hearing ability and speech performance of the patients with auditory neuropathy (AN) after cochlear implantation (CI). Methods: Thirty-five AN patients (26 males and 9 females) after CI in our center since 2007 were chosen, including 5 postlingual patients (implanted age from 14.3 to 38.6 years old) and 30 prelingual patients (implanted age from 1.1 to 13.7 years old). Hearing sensitivity and speech performance were estimated via following methods: (1) implanted hearing thresholds by sound field audiometry; (2) speech audiometry, including monosyllable, disyllable and sentences recognition test by computer-controlled software and sentence recognition test under noise condition (signal to noise ratio=+ 10dB); (3) Mandarin Early Speech Perception test (MESP), Mandarin Pediatric Speech Intelligibility test (MPSI), MAIS, or IT-MAIS for prelingual AN implantees. Results: The average implanted hearing threshold (250-4 000 Hz) was (41.1±11.7) dBHL in 22 AN implantees, while those prelingual implantees was (39.1±10.9) dBHL, and (44.9±12.3) dBHL in postlingual implantees. Speech audiometry were implemented in four of 5 postlingual AN implantees, the results showed increasing tendency in monosyllable recognition scores, dramatic individual variation in computer-controlled disyllable and sentences recognition test, and poor scores (<30%) in speech recognition test in noise condition. Four of 30 prelingual implantees reconstruct their speech recognition ability within 1-3 years after switch-on, characterized as recognition scores (>60%) in monosyllable, disyllable and sentences. The one of prelingual implantee gained recognition scores of speech in noise within 1 year after switch-on. MAIS or IT-MAIS were implemented in twenty-five prelingual implantees, the average score in these patients was 28.6±11.7. Conclusion: Cochlear implant can improve the hearing thresholds of AN patients, however, the improvement in speech performance presented significant variations among the implanted individuals.

Is there a best side for cochlear implants in post-lingual patients?

IntroductionCochlear Implant is a sensory prosthesis capable of restoring hearing in patients with severe or profound bilateral sensorineural hearing loss.ObjectiveTo evaluate if there is a better side to be implanted in post-lingual patients.MethodsRetrospective longitudinal study. Participants were 40 subjects, of both sex, mean age of 47 years, with post-lingual hearing loss, users of unilateral cochlear implant for more than 12 months and less than 24 months, with asymmetric auditor reserve between the ears (difference of 10 dBNA, In at least one of the frequencies with a response, between the ears), divided into two groups. Group A was composed of individuals with cochlear implant in the ear with better auditory reserve and Group B with auditory reserve lower in relation to the contralateral side.ResultsThere was no statistical difference for the tonal auditory threshold before and after cochlear implant. A better speech perception in pre-cochlear implant tests was present in B (20%), but the final results are similar in both groups.ConclusionThe cochlear implant in the ear with the worst auditory residue favors a bimodal hearing, which would allow the binaural summation, without compromising the improvement of the audiometric threshold and the speech perception.

Auditory brainstem implant in postlingual postmeningitic patients.

The aim of this study was to evaluate outcomes of postlingual postmeningitic patients who received an auditory brainstem implant (ABI). Retrospective analysis was performed on postlingual postmeningitic patients with bilateral profound sensorineural hearing loss who underwent ABI between the years 2007 and 2014 METHODS: All patients were postlingually deaf due to cochlear ossification as a consequence of bacterial meningitis. The patients received a MED-EL or Neurelec ABI. All patients were operated on at different hospitals by the same primary surgeon. The patients were tested using Ling 5 sound detection, sound field implant thresholds between 250 Hz and 6 kHz, and 6 to 12 choice closed-set word and sentence tests. Nine patients with postmeningitic cochlear ossification received an ABI. Five of nine ABI users (55.5%) wear their audio processors (AP) most of the time. Four (44.5%) with no perceivable benefit have become nonusers. Three of the five consistent ABI users reported good benefit. The other two ABI users who do wear their APs do not respond to sound in daily living but reported benefits such as "feeling sound" in a good way. In this study, five of nine patients (55.5%) with bilateral ossified cochlea had some degree of benefit from their ABI. An ABI may be useful in hearing restoration in postlingual patients with bilateral ossified cochlea due to meningitis. However, poor results may be related to side effects, which may necessitate deactivation of electrodes, long duration of auditory deprivation, or impairments in the auditory neural structures as a result of meningitis. 4. Laryngoscope, 126:1889-1892, 2016.

Perioperative nursing care of elderly postlingual deafness patients with cochlear implantation

Objective To discuss the perioperative nursing care of elderly postlingual deafness patients with cochlear implantation. Methods Cochlear implementation had been carried out in 15 elderly postilingual deafness patients from February 2010 to April 2014, and we observed complications according to their characteristics and the specificity of cochlear implantation, monitored the perioperative blood pressure and pulse, and provided the targeted psychological interventions and rehabilitation guidance. Results All of patients had steady mood during perioperative period without complications. Two patients acquired blood pressure beyond 150mmHg when admitted, but decreased to normal before operation; three patients presented slight dizziness and nausea. The patient′s satisfaction was 100%. Conclusions Based on elderly physiological and psychological characteristics, we improve psychological and fundamental nursing targeted for perioperative patients, which was a significant guarantee for a quick recovery and a good prognosis. Key words: Elderly postlingual deafness; Cochlear implantation; Perioperative nursing

The Influence of Cochlear Implant Electrode Position on Performance

Objectives: To study the relation between variables related to cochlear implant electrode position and speech perception performance scores in a large patient population. Design: The study sample consisted of 203 patients implanted with a CII or HiRes90K implant with a HiFocus 1 or 1J electrode of Advanced Bionics. Phoneme and word score averages for the 1- and 2-year follow-up were calculated for 41 prelingually deaf and 162 postlingually deaf patients. Analyses to reveal correlations between these performance outcomes and 6 position-related variables (angle of most basal electrode contact, surgical insertion angle, surgical insertion, wrapping factor, angular insertion depth, linear insertion depth) were executed. The scalar location, as an indication for the presence of intracochlear trauma, and modiolus proximity beyond the basal turn were not evaluated in this study. In addition, different patient-specific variables (age at implantation, age at onset of hearing loss, duration of deafness, preoperative phoneme and word scores) were tested for correlation with performance. Results: The performance scores of prelingual patients were correlated with age at onset of hearing loss, duration of deafness and preoperative scores. For the postlingual patients, performance showed correlations with all 5 patient-specific variables. None of the 6 position-related variables influenced speech perception in cochlear implant patients. Conclusions: Although several patient-specific variables showed correlations with speech perception outcomes, not one of the studied angular and linear position-related variables turned out to have a demonstrable influence on performance.

Preliminary performance of cochlear implants in post-lingual patients with auditory neuropathy

Conclusions: Auditory restoration can be obtained by using cochlear implants (CIs) in post-lingual patients with auditory neuropathy (AN). However, improvements in postoperative speech recognition for these patients varied. Objectives: The primary purpose of this study was to assess the postoperative performances of two post-lingual AN patients after receiving CIs. Methods: Two post-lingual AN patients received unilateral CIs and the efficacy of the implants was then evaluated. One patient was female with bilateral mid-severe hearing loss and received an implant at age 28 years. The second patient was male with severe hearing loss and he received an implant at age 15 years. The postoperative performance for both patients was evaluated. Results: After using the CI for 6 months, the hearing ability of both subjects was improved by the CI with an average post-implant threshold of 35 dB and 44 dB, respectively. The woman made significant progress in speech recognition with an open-set spondee recognition score of 55% and sentence recognition in quiet score of 90%. Sentence recognition in noise scores were 94% (SNR = +10 dB), 88% (SNR = +5 dB), and 80% (SNR = 0 dB). The boy achieved improved recognition scores for monosyllables (40%) and disyllables (26%), but poor sentence recognition both in quiet (0%) and in noise (0%).

Advanced Bionics Cochlear Implants in Patients with Prelingual Hearing Loss

Introduction: Cochlear Implants (CI) have become standard in the treatment of prelingual, postlingual and perilingual deafness in children. Bilateral implants are considered standard for bilaterally affected children. Studies also find that the CI provides better access to speech for most children, and this access results in improved speech perception. In earlier times children who did not react to acoustic stimuli and were neither able to understand speech nor to acquire it spontaneously encountered severe discrimination, being dismissed as simple-minded or worse. Different studies broadly agree that one or two of every 1000 newborns have a hearing impairment that on current evidence warrants treatment or observation, i.e., permanent hearing loss with a lowering of the absolute threshold of hearing for speech perception by at least 35 dB. Approximately 50% of severe hearing impairments arising in the inner ear are thought to be hereditary in origin. When new Cochlear Implant (CI) sound processors are being introduced by the manufacturers, usually the newest generation implants benefit first from the new technology in order to release the full potential of the new hardware. Objective: Evaluate the improvement of speech language and sound perception in patients with prelingual deafness that underwent cochlear implant using Advanced Bionics® device. Method: Retrospective study of the medical records of the patients fitted with Advanced Bionics® cochlear implant in our institution between 2011 and 2012. Results: Sixteen patients underwent to cochlear implantation using Advanced Bionics® devices. There were 43,75% prelingual and 43,75% postlingual patients with bilateral hearing loss. Mean age at implantation in the prelingual group was 3.6 years (ranged from 2 to 6 years). There was one case with medical history of deafness in family. All prelingual patients used hearing devices before the cochlear implant. The hearing levels improved after CI in all patients. Conclusion: This study evaluated patients with pre-lingual deafness using the Advanced Bionics® cochlear implants demonstrated significant gains in neural stimulation and language development in children.

Cochlear implants and bacterial meningitis: A speech recognition study in paired samples

Summary Introduction: Cochlear implants may guarantee sound perception and the ability to detect speech at a close-to-normal hearing intensity; however, differences have been observed among implantees in terms of performance on discrimination tests and speech recognition. Objective: To identify whether patients with post-meningitis deafness perform similarly to patients with hearing loss due to other causes. Method: A retrospective clinical study involving post-lingual patients who had been using Nucleus-22 or Nucleus-24 cochlear implants for at least 1 year. These patients were matched with respect to age (± 2 years), time since the onset of deafness (± 1 year), and the duration of implant use with implant users who had hearing loss due to other causes. Speech perception was assessed using the Portuguese version of the Latin-American Protocol for the Evaluation of Cochlear Implants. Results: The sample consisted of 52 individuals (26 in each of the 2 groups). The post-meningitic group had a median of 18.5 active electrodes. The group with hearing loss due to other causes had a median of 21, but no significant statistical difference was observed (p = 0.07). The results of closed- and open-set speech recognition tests showed great variability in speech recognition between the studied groups. These differences were more pronounced for the most difficult listening tasks, such as the medial consonant task (in the vowel-consonant-vowel format). Conclusion: Cochlear implant recipients with hearing loss due to bacterial meningitis, who had been using the device for 1 year performed more poorly on closed- and open-set speech recognition tests than did implant recipients with hearing loss due to other causes.

Cochlear Implantation in Elderly Patients: Surgical and Audiological Outcome

Background: Deteriorated hearing affects speech perception and speech production, and negatively impacts on social interaction, employment, income, and, as a result, the quality of life of the elderly population. Lack of satisfaction with conventional hearing aids motivated part of them to turn to more sophisticated cochlear device systems. Objective: To investigate the outcome of cochlear implantation (CI) among elderly cochlear implant recipients. Methods: The medical records of 20 postlingual patients aged >65 years at the time of CI, who were followed up for a period of at least 12 months were retrospectively reviewed for age at the time of CI, the cause and duration of deafness, hearing aid experience, comorbidities, complications of the procedure and audiological outcome. Pre- and post-CI speech perception performance was tested using a battery of speech perception tests. Results: In addition to bilateral severe to profound hearing loss, all 20 patients had some comorbidities and 13 had more than 2 pathologies that are associated with hearing impairment. Major complications such as facial nerve paralysis and foreign body reaction were rare (n = 2). Minor complications such as disequilibrium (n = 5) and wound problems (n = 5) resolved spontaneously or were successfully managed conservatively. There were no complications associated with general anesthesia used during the CI procedure. Statistical analysis using the Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test showed significant differences (p < 0.01) between the pre- and postspeech perception categories. No significant correlations were found between the background data: unaided thresholds, aided thresholds, duration of profound deafness, duration of hearing aid use prior to CI, speech perception before CI and speech perception performance after CI using Pearson correlations. Conclusion: CI was found to be associated with significant hearing benefit in elderly candidates. However, every CI candidate must be informed about possible complications associated with the procedure, especially related to the vestibular system. At the same time, it should be made clear that life-threatening conditions are rare and that the surgery is usually safe.

The cochlear implant programme in Crete: A nine year experience

The aim of this study was to present data of the cochlear implant programme in Crete. Our series consists of 51 patients, 35 adults and 16 children, in a nine year period. The average age of our patients was 31 years (range from three to 68). The average duration of deafness among our patients was seven years (range from two to 22). Our series included 32 postlingual patients and 19 prelingual patients. The cause of deafness in our series was unknown in approximately 40 per cent of cases. Standard selection criteria and operative techniques were used for all cases. Postoperative programming and rehabilitation were performed according to the individual needs of each patient. Implantation was successful in all patients except one who had to undergo a second operation with good results. No major postoperative complications were noted, while minor complications included temporary facial weakness and undesired stimulation of the facial nerve during implant function in two and three patients, respectively. All patients showed significant improvement in perception and discrimination of sound and speech. Better results have been noted in prelingual patients under the age of six, as well as in postlingual adults with a recent history of deafness. As cochlear implant technology evolves and surgical techniques continue to improve, our department will continue its efforts to provide effective hearing rehabilitation of deaf children and adults in Crete. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The cochlear implant programme in Crete: a nine year experience

The aim of this study was to present data of the cochlear implant programme in Crete. Our series consists of 51 patients, 35 adults and 16 children, in a nine year period. The average age of our patients was 31 years (range from three to 68). The average duration of deafness among our patients was seven years (range from two to 22). Our series included 32 postlingual patients and 19 prelingual patients. The cause of deafness in our series was unknown in approximately 40 per cent of cases. Standard selection criteria and operative techniques were used for all cases. Postoperative programming and rehabilitation were performed according to the individual needs of each patient. Implantation was successful in all patients except one who had to undergo a second operation with good results. No major postoperative complications were noted, while minor complications included temporary facial weakness and undesired stimulation of the facial nerve during implant function in two and three patients, respectively. All patients showed significant improvement in perception and discrimination of sound and speech. Better results have been noted in prelingual patients under the age of six, as well as in postlingual adults with a recent history of deafness. As cochlear implant technology evolves and surgical techniques continue to improve, our department will continue its efforts to provide effective hearing rehabilitation of deaf children and adults in Crete. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Musical Perception and Enjoyment in Post-Lingual Patients With Cochlear Implants

To evaluate music perception and enjoyment following cochlear implantation and its impact on quality of life (QOL). Eighty-eight adult post-lingually deaf cochlear implant users entered the study. The music questionnaire analyzed musical background, listening habits, and quality of musical sound through the cochlear implant. Music perception was evaluated with the Primary Measures of Music Audiation (PMMA). The Glasgow Benefit Inventory evaluated the quality of life (QOL). The music questionnaires, the PMMA and the GBI were completed by 84 %, 74 %, and 82 % of patients, respectively. Subjective enjoyment of music and listening habits decreased post-implantation when compared with prior to deafness. Mean scores for music perception were: tone 71 %, rhythm 78 %, timbre 61 %, songs 59 %, and melodies 23 %. The quality of music sound through the cochlear implant was associated with music enjoyment and with QOL. Music enjoyment and perception are possible with a cochlear implant. The quality of music sound through the cochlear implant influences post-operative QOL.

Environmental sound perception in adult patients with cochlear implants: a comparison with central auditory disorders

The aim of this study is to investigate the perception mechanism of environmental sounds in postlingual patients with cochlear implants compared with that in patients with central auditory disorders. Seventeen postlingual patients with cochlear implants were studied; six patients with auditory nerve disease (auditory neuropathy) and ten patients with cortical deafness were selected for the comparison. A taperecorded environmental sound perception test of 24 environmental sounds was carried out. This test is divided into two categories: the category of voice includes human voice, animal and bird sounds, and the category of non-voice includes musical instrument sound, natural sound and artificial sound. The percentage of correct perception of environmental sounds in postlingually deaf patients with cochlear implants was markedly higher than that in patients with cortical deafness, but was similar to that in patients with auditory nerve disease (auditory neuropathy).