Communication strategies of adult cochlear implant candidates

Adult cochlear implant candidates' abilities to cope with communication breakdown were assessed using the Communication Strategies Task (CST). Forty adult cochlear implant candidates with acquired hearing losses and 10 adults with normal hearing served as subjects. Appropriateness of responses to the CST were rated by 10 certified speech-language pathologists and audiologists. Seventy-six percent of the subjects demonstrated difficulty identifying onset or resolution of communication breakdown, communicators' feelings, factors contributing to communication breakdown, and appropriate repair strategies. The responses of individuals with sudden hearing losses did not differ significantly from the responses of individuals with progressive hearing losses. Response patterns did not correlate with the age of onset of the hearing loss, duration of deafness, age at the time of evaluation, or educational background. The results of this study suggest that ability to cope with communication breakdown must be evaluated on an individual basis.