Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 29, 2025
Systematic Hearing Performance Evaluation Process for Adolescents with Cochlear Implantation at Early Ages
Published on: March 24, 2023
Holistic assessment of cochlear implant outcomes using the international classification of functioning disability and
Ellen Andries1,2, Artur Lorens3, Piotr Henryk Skarżyński3,4,5,6
1Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Antwerp University Hospital (UZA), Antwerp, Belgium. ellen.andries@uza.be.
Purpose:
To study outcome after cochlear implantation using the Cochlear Implant (CI) outcome assessment protocol based on the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) model (CI-ICF).
Methods:
Raw data of a prospective, longitudinal, multicenter study was analyzed. Seventy-two CI candidates were assessed preoperatively and six months postoperatively using the CI-ICF protocol. Following tools were used: (1) Work Rehabilitation Questionnaire (WORQ), (2) Abbreviated Profile of Hearing Aid Benefit (APHAB), (3) Audio Processor Satisfaction Questionnaire (APSQ), (4) Speech, Spatial, and Qualities of Hearing Scale (SSQ12), (5) Hearing Implant Sound Quality Index (HISQUI19), (6) Nijmegen CI Questionnaire (NCIQ) (7) pure tone audiometry, (8) speech audiometry, (9) sound localization.
Results:
There was a significant improvement of speech discrimination in quiet (p = 0.015; p < 0.001) and in noise (p = 0.041; p < 0.001), sound detection (p < 0.001), tinnitus (p = 0.026), listening (p < 0.001), communicating with-receiving-spoken messages (p < 0.001), conversation (p < 0.001), family relationships (p < 0.001), community life (p = 0.019), NCIQ total score and all subdomain scores (p < 0.001). Subjective sound localization significantly improved (p < 0.001), while psychometric sound localization did not. There was no significant subjective deterioration of vestibular functioning and no substantial change in sound aversiveness. CI users reported a high level of implant satisfaction postoperatively.
Conclusion:
This study highlights the positive impact of cochlear implantation on auditory performance, communication, and subjective well-being. The CI-ICF protocol provides a holistic and comprehensive view of the evolution of CI outcomes.
