Datalogging Statistics and Speech Recognition During the First Year of Use in Adult Cochlear Implant Recipients

To examine device datalogging characteristics and postoperative speech recognition performance in adult cochlear implant (CI) recipients.

Retrospective study examining datalogging characteristics throughout the first year of device use and postoperative speech recognition outcomes measured at 1 year.

One hundred seventy-seven adults who received a Cochlear CI.

Average values for environmental scene classification (hours of device use per day, and percent of hours per day in quiet, noise, and speech) as reported by Cochlear datalogging over the first year of device use. Speech recognition was assessed at 1 year postactivation.

During the first year of devices use, CI listeners >80 years of age used their device significantly less (average = 10.97 h/d) than the youngest adult listeners (18-30 yrs), who used their device an average of 13.29 hours/d. There was no consistent effect of age on the number of hours a CI user listened to speech in noise each day. Correlational and regression analyses suggest that the number of average hours of device use is the primary factor that accounts for variance observed in postoperative consonant-nucleus-consonant word scores.

Results suggest that the average number of hours listening to speech in noise is not related to postoperative performance, but the average number of hours of device use per day is correlated with postoperative performance. Further research is needed to determine if these findings are merely correlational or causal in nature.