Parents' evaluations of the effects of the 3M/House cochlear implant on children.

A questionnaire was used to obtain parents' opinions of their children's 3M/House cochlear implant. Responses were received from parents of 132 children aged 3 through 17. Seventy-five percent of the parents were satisfied overall with the implant; 25% were not. The parents were more positive about the implant than they felt their children were. Fifty-seven percent, 34%, and 9% of the parents reported that the implant performed better, the same, or worse, respectively, than their implant counselors said it would. Almost all of the parents (98%) said they would recommend the implant to other parents. The parents thought that the effect of the implant on environmental sound perception and speech production was superior to its effect on speech perception. Environmental sound perception was a more substantial predictor of parental satisfaction than was speech perception or speech production. About half of the parents felt that the size and cords of the external processor were problematic. Adolescent children wore their implants less than preadolescent children. It was concluded that the majority of the parents thought the 3M/House cochlear implant provided real-world benefits for their children.