Development of a quality-of-life measure for adult patients with sequential bilateral cochlear implants

It has been well established in the literature that hearing difficulties can have an adverse effect on the quality of life of an individual. This study looked at developing a quality-of-life measure for adult patients who received bilateral cochlear implants sequentially. The sample consisted of patients from the UK National Health Service who have received two implants sequentially. The study was divided into three stages. A retrospective open-ended questionnaire and face-to-face interviews were carried out in to develop a close-ended questionnaire for the same purposes. This is now being validated and tested for its reliability. Categories from the qualitative data were identified and these were the foundations on which the close-ended questionnaire was developed. The 'Outcomes from Bilateral Cochlear Implantation' questionnaire originally had 42 questions. Test-retest reliability was investigated and some amendments were made to reflect this. Participants will next be asked to fill in the amended questionnaire together with another three quality-of-life questionnaires (generic and disease-specific ones) and the results will be compared. Better understanding of quality of life after receiving the second implant will aid professionals dealing with these patients in understanding what the practical limitations of these devices are and advising future patients accordingly.