Self-assessment of unilateral and bimodal cochlear implant experiences in daily life.

Objective: The subjective experiences were assessed of cochlear implant (CI) users either wearing or not wearing a hearing aid (HA) at the contralateral ear.
Design: Unilateral CI-recipients were asked to fill out a set of daily-life questionnaires on bimodal HA use, hearing disability, hearing handicap and general quality of life.
Study Sample: Twenty-six CI-recipients who regularly use a contralateral HA (bimodal group) and twenty-two CI-recipients who do not use a HA in the contralateral ear (unilateral group).
Results: Comparisons between both groups (bimodal versus unilateral) showed no difference in self-rated disability, hearing handicap or general quality of life. However within the group of bimodal listeners, participants did report a benefit of bimodal hearing ability in various daily life listening situations.
Conclusions: Bimodal benefit in daily life can consistently be experienced and reported within the group of bimodal users.
Competing Interests: A research grant from Advanced Bionics Inc. to MUMC+ financially supported the work of the first author (E.D.) in this investigator-initiated study. The second author (M.J.) reviewed the manuscript and provided statistical support, made possible by a grant from the Dutch Heinsius-Houbolt Foundation. The third author (J.C.) had a role in designing the study. He holds a scientific post in the Advanced Bionics European Research Center. For the remaining authors no conflicts were declared. The study was designed in cooperation between MUMC+ and Advanced Bionics. Data collection, analysis and the decision to publish were all solely accounted for by MUMC+. The work presented in this manuscript is the intellectual property of MUMC+.