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- Title
Measuring changes in quality of life in patients with auditory implants.
- Authors
Lassaletta, L.; Skarżyński, P.; Távora-Vieira, D.; Van de Heyning, P.; Staecker, H.; Zernotti, M.; Gavilán, J.
- Abstract
Objectives: Hearing implants amplify or restore hearing in individuals with different severities of hearing loss. Clinical outcome measures usually assess speech understanding in quiet and in noise. In recent years, an increased focus has been placed on hearing implant users' subjective assessment of the benefit that they feel that they derive from device use. This study compares the patient-reported quality of life and quality of hearing before hearing implant activation with that at 6 and 12 months after activation. Material and Methods: The Health Utility Index (HUI) and the Speech, Spatial and Qualities of Hearing Scale (SSQ12) were administered to individuals who received a cochlear implant (CI), BoneBridge, or VIBRANT SoundBridge. The Nijmegen Cochlear Implant Questionnaire (NCIQ) was only completed by the CI subjects. The questionnaires were administered at all three intervals (before first activation and after 6 and 12 months after first activation). Additionally, the subjects' satisfaction with their audio processors was recorded at the 6 and 12-month intervals using the Audio Processor Satisfaction Questionnaire (APSQ). Results: Preliminary data analyses of 85 CI recipients and 36 VIBRANT recipients showed that quality of life and quality of hearing increased from pre-activation level to the 6-month interval in all measures. The SSQ total scores improved significantly for both the CI (p < .001) and the VIBRANT subjects (p = .009). From the HUI2 and HUI3 data, the multi-attribute scores were calculated and a "clinically important improvement" was found for both CI and VIBRANT subjects. The NCIQ scores (CI subjects only) improved significantly from the baseline visit to the 6-month interval for all 6 subscales (all p < .05). Further, the descriptive analysis of the APSQ revealed a generally highly level of satisfaction with their audio processors (median score of 4.1 for CI subjects and 4.2 for VIBRANT subjects with 5 being the max. score). Conclusions: The present data show that hearing implant users feel that their quality of life and quality of hearing both significantly benefit from hearing implant use. Overall, these results suggest the importance of hearing implant provision on users' lives beyond simply an increase in speech understanding.
- Subjects
BELGIUM; QUALITY of life; CONFERENCES &; conventions; COCHLEAR implants; SPEECH perception
- Publication
Journal of Hearing Science, 2018, Vol 8, Issue 2, p95
- ISSN
2083-389X
- Publication type
Article