Perspectives on Support Material for Referrals to Cochlear Implantation Teams.

Purpose: This study used a collaborative approach to explore the needs, barriers, and facilitators to developing cochlear implant referral information material that would be valuable for hard of hearing adults and referring audiologists.

Method: During the development of a prototype referral aid to be used within the Australian context, a multistage qualitative study was conducted using a consultative process, informal and semistructured interviews, as well as online surveys. A deductive directed content analysis approach was applied to assess respondents' perspectives.

Cochlear implant outcomes in adults and adolescents with early-onset hearing loss.

Objectives: The aims of the study were to investigate (1) speech perception outcomes in people with an early-onset hearing loss (HL) who received a cochlear implant as an adolescent or adult, (2) prognostic factors associated with positive speech perception outcomes, and (3) self-report outcomes in these participants.

Design: Outcomes for 38 implant recipients with a Nucleus device were investigated retrospectively. All participants were diagnosed with a bilateral HL at age #3 yr and were implanted at age 14 yr or older.

Evaluation of NRT and behavioral measures for MAPping elderly cochlear implant users.

We investigated the acceptability of electrophysiologically derived MAPs and the effect of these MAPs on speech perception in elderly adults using Nucleus 24 cochlear implants. Eight implant recipients aged 75 years or older trialed an electrophysiologically derived MAP and a behavioral MAP. The electrophysiologically derived MAP was based on the threshold and maximum comfort level for electrode 10 and evoked compound action potential thresholds measured on six electrodes using neural response telemetry (NRT).

Evaluation of streamlined programming procedures for the Nucleus cochlear implant with the Contour electrode array.

Objective: The objective of this study was to evaluate streamlined programming procedures for the Nucleus cochlear implant system with the Contour electrode array.

Design: Phase 1 involved an examination of the clinical MAPs for the first 103 recipients implanted with the Contour electrode array in the Melbourne Cochlear Implant Clinic, to examine the ability to predict the entire MAP based on a smaller number of clinically determined T- and/or C-levels. In phase 2, a subset of the streamlined procedures was selected and clinically evaluated, using speech perception and subjective preference measures.

Evaluating the health-related quality of life effects of cochlear implants: a prospective study of an adult cochlear implant program.

This paper prospectively documents the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and social participation benefits of adult patients receiving cochlear implants in Australia and New Zealand. Thirty-four consecutively implanted patients completed the Assessment of Quality of Life (AQoL) and Hearing Participation Scale (HPS) instruments before implantation, and at 3- and 6-month follow-ups. Implantation resulted in significant improvements in AQoL and HPS scores, The effect size was 1.