Sentiment Analysis of Cochlear Implants in the r/Cochlear Implants Subreddit

Cochlear implants (CI) are surgical devices used for rehabilitation of sensorineural hearing loss. More individuals are receiving CIs as technology and surgical techniques improve and candidacy guidelines expand. Despite growing public awareness, CI utilization remains low. Understanding sentiment regarding these devices is important. Reddit is a text-based website wherein posters interact on specialized forums, "subreddits." R/Cochlearimplants allows for unique CI sentiment analysis.

A search was done from October 2024 to November 2024 on r/Cochlearimplants.

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Posts were sorted by highest engagement. Metadata regarding date, comments, and upvotes were collected. Sentiment was analyzed using TextBlob and VADER, Python library Natural Language Processing tools.

Four hundred and twenty unique posters made 1068 total entries. Entries spanned 2019 to 2024, the majority in 2024 (51%, n = 543). VADER found the majority of entries positive (n = 562, 52.9%) while TextBlob found the majority neutral (n = 928, 87%). Sentiment distribution over time was significantly different (P < .001), with more negative sentiment in 2024 than 2019 to 2023. Negative VADER entries had significantly higher word counts (P < .001). Positive VADER entries had higher upvotes (P < .001).

Sentiment regarding CI remains more nuanced than can be gleaned from this analysis, including cultural and ethical issues. This study demonstrates that sentiment on r/Cochlearimplants is generally neutral or positive, trending relatively more negative over time. This could suggest negativity towards CIs is growing with increased utilization. Awareness of online sentiment may help providers understand patient perspectives and dispel misinformation.