Subjective perception of emotional factors in CI users.

Introduction Hearing impaired people describe different problems in everyday communication. So far, it is unclear how the perception of emotional parts of the speaker’s voice changes after CI fitting and how they affect the severity of the subjectively perceived handicap.

Material and method During the initial CI fitting week and at the first follow-up appointment three months later, 127 patients were interviewed using the questionnaires "Speech, Spatial and Qualities of Hearing Scale​ (SSQ12)" and "Emotional Communication in Hearing Questionnaire (EMO-CHeQ)". Subsequently, the data were analyzed statistically.

Results The mean score of the SSQ12 across all items improve from 3.8 (±2.09) during the initial fitting period to 4.67 (±1.95). The mean score on the EMO-CHeQ is 2.5 (±0.74) at the time of initial fitting and shows little change after three months of wear (2.27±0.83). The EMO-CHeQ results correlate significantly at the time of initial fitting with the SSQ data (EMO (r=0.26, p=0.003) and also three months postoperatively (r=0.24, p=0.02).

Conclusions  The hearing handicap is already estimated to be lower after three months of CI wearing than at the time of initial fitting. However, at this time CI users do not report any improvements in hearing emotional vocal parameters from the speaker’s voice. Further interviews after a wearing period of 12 months will provide information on whether a longer practice period is necessary for this.

Publication History

Article published online:
12 May 2023