The Relationship Between Daily Device Use and Subjective Hearing Abilities in Pediatric Cochlear Implant Users

Area of Science:

• Audiology and Hearing Science
• Pediatric Otolaryngology
• Biomedical Engineering

Background:

• Cochlear implant (CI) use enhances auditory and speech recognition in children with hearing loss.
• The long-term impact of CI usage duration on subjective hearing skills remains under-investigated.
• Hearing hour percentage (HHP) quantifies CI device usage time.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine if increased duration of CI use, measured by HHP, correlates with improved long-term patient-reported functional hearing skills.
• To assess the relationship between HHP and changes in Speech, Spatial, and Qualities of Hearing (SSQ) questionnaire scores over time.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective chart review of pediatric CI recipients with at least 18 months of device use (2013-2023).
• Calculation of hearing hour percentage (HHP) based on device usage data.
• Correlation analysis (Spearman's rank) between average HHP and changes in SSQ scores.

Main Results:

• A significant positive correlation was found between average HHP and the change in SSQ scores from the first to the most recent postoperative test (r=0.63, P=0.01).
• For patients with pre-implantation SSQ scores, average HHP also positively correlated with the change in SSQ scores from pre-implantation to the most recent test (r=0.68, P=0.04).
• The study included 24 pediatric CI recipients with a median implantation age of 6.0 years and a median CI experience of 33 months.

Conclusions:

• Higher average hearing hour percentage (HHP) in pediatric cochlear implant users is associated with greater improvements in patient-reported hearing abilities over time.
• Increased duration of CI use may positively influence long-term functional hearing skills, as indicated by SSQ questionnaire outcomes.
• These findings underscore the importance of maximizing CI device usage for optimal auditory rehabilitation in children.