Evaluating the Link Between Sound Quality, Speech Recognition and Cochlear Implant-Related Quality of Life Outcomes

Evaluating the link between sound quality, speech recognition and cochlear implant-related quality of life outcomes

More than a million people around the world rely on cochlear implants (CIs) to hear. CI effectiveness is generally evaluated through speech recognition tests, and despite how widespread they are, CI sound quality is typically not considered an indicator of users' quality of life.

Looking beyond speech recognition to evaluate cochlear implants

More than a million people around the world rely on cochlear implants (CIs) to hear. CI effectiveness is generally evaluated through speech recognition tests, and despite how widespread they are, CI sound quality is typically not considered an indicator of users' quality of life.

Looking Beyond Speech Recognition To Evaluate Cochlear Implants

In JASA Express Letters, researchers evaluate the relationships between sound quality, speech recognition, and quality-of-life outcomes for cochlear implant (CI) users. They found CI sound quality leads to a 32% variance in users’ quality of life — in contrast, speech recognition has virtually no predictive power over quality of life.