Evaluation of Speech, Spatial Perception and Hearing Quality in Unilateral, Bimodal and Bilateral Cochlear Implant Users

Özet

Objective: The aim of the study was to conduct ascale-based evaluation of the hearing skills of unilateral, bimodal and bilateral cochlear implant (CI) users, including distinguishing, orientating and locatingspeech and environmental sounds in their surrounding environment that they are exposed to in differentcontexts of everyday life. The scale results were compared between groups.Methods: A total of 74 cochlear implant users, 30unilateral, 30 bimodal and 14 bilateral, were includedin the study. Their ages ranged from 11 to 64 years.Participants were assessed using the Speech, Spatialand Qualities of Hearing Scale (SSQ).Results: Bilateral CI users’ subjective ratings of theirown hearing skills were found to be significantly better than those of bimodal and unilateral CI users; bimodal users' subjective ratings were also found to besignificantly better than those of unilateral CI users.Paired comparisons showed statistically significantdifferences between the groups in terms of total scoresof Speech, Spatial, Qualities of Hearing and GeneralSSQ (p<0.05).Conclusion: Our findings show that bilateral use ofcochlear implants should be recommended for thosepresently using bimodal and unilateral devices. Moreover, subjective tests should be used regularly alongwith objective tests for evaluating CI patients.