Evaluation of decision criteria of CI candidates for implant system selection

Cochlear implants (CIs) are a common therapy for severe to profound hearing loss. In the absence of additional medical requirements, patients may choose freely between different implant systems. Therefore, a detailed and best possible counselling is required. The aim of the study is the evaluation of decision criteria of CI patients that are rated as important and relevant during the selection of the CI device. The evaluation of the selection criteria was carried out via questionnaires at different time points: (1) before implantation, (2) after completion of the first fitting and (3) after 6 months CI experience. Among others, the questionnaires for decision criteria include characteristics of the implant, sound processor, accessories and different hearing program parameters. The relevance of the particular aspects for choosing an implant system was assessed using Likert scaling with four levels (very important to unimportant). The results show that the reliability of the implant and the wearing comfort of the sound processor were rated as “very important” (69.3% / 96.5%). Also high priority with rating as “important” was observed for MRI safety (62.9%), directional microphone technology (72.8%) and noise reduction (88.9%). The availability of processor buttons was reviewed as being “rather unimportant” (32.1%) as well as swimming protection (52.9%). Furthermore, the data show, that the patients’ assessment criteria almost stay the same after 6 months of CI usage. With the findings of the study, the counselling process shall be optimized. Therefore, aspects that appear most important for the device selection will be considered more intensive. However, the content of patient counselling needs to respect individual requirements.

Poster-PDF A-1879.PDF

Publication History

Article published online:
10 June 2020