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Updated: Jan 13, 2026
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Systematic Hearing Performance Evaluation Process for Adolescents with Cochlear Implantation at Early Ages
Published on: March 24, 2023
744
Cochlear Implant User Affect and Reported Quality of Life
Sammy Y Gao1, Brittany N Hand2, Craig Salvador1
1Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston.
JAMA Otolaryngology-- Head & Neck Surgery
|January 8, 2026
Summary
Patient affect influences cochlear implant quality of life scores, particularly in social and emotional domains. However, affect changes may not significantly alter overall quality of life outcomes.
Area of Science:
- Audiology
- Psychology
- Health Outcomes Research
Background:
- Patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) like the Cochlear Implant Quality of Life (CIQOL) instruments are increasingly used to assess cochlear implant outcomes.
- The self-reported nature of PROMs necessitates understanding how psychosocial factors, such as affect, influence responses.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate changes in affect and CIQOL domain scores over time in adult cochlear implant recipients.
- To determine the association between affect (positive and negative) and CIQOL domain scores.
Main Methods:
- A prospective longitudinal cohort study followed adult cochlear implant candidates for 1 year.
- Data collected included speech recognition, CIQOL-35 Profile, and Positive Affect and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) at baseline, 3, 6, and 12 months post-activation.
- Statistical analyses included Cohen d for effect sizes and multivariable repeated-measure mixed-effect linear models.
Main Results:
- All CIQOL-35 domains showed improvement from pre-implantation to 12 months post-activation.
- Positive affect scores increased, while negative affect scores decreased over the study period.
- Both positive and negative affect were significantly associated with CIQOL domain scores, especially in the social and emotional domains.
Conclusions:
- Patient affect is associated with cochlear implant quality of life scores, particularly impacting social and emotional well-being.
- Despite statistical associations, the observed changes in affect were unlikely to lead to clinically significant improvements in CIQOL domain scores.
