Advantages of disadvantages expected and reported by cochlear implant patients.

An open-ended questionnaire was administered to 20 patients using the Nucleus multichannel cochlear implant and 21 patients using the Ineraid multichannel cochlear implant. Before surgery, they were asked to list the advantages and disadvantages that they expected from their cochlear implant. Advantages were expected in the categories of: (1) speech perception when speechreading can be used (65%); (2) environmental sound perception (58%); (3) psychological effects (14%); (4) speech perception when speechreading cannot be used (49%); (5) lifestyle and social effects (42%); and (6) speech production (5%). Disadvantages were expected in: (1) equipment malfunction (42%); (2) environmental sound perception (28%); (3) speech perception when speechreading can be used (7%); (4) psychological effects (24%); (5) speech perception when speechreading is not used (7%); and (6) lifestyle and social effects (7%). Concerns were also raised about the risk of surgery (9%). After several months (4-60 mo) of using their implant, patients were asked to list the advantages and disadvantages that they actually experienced. Advantages were reported in the categories of: (1) speech perception when speechreading can be used (86%); (2) environmental sound perception (79%); (3) psychological effects (49%); (4) speech perception when speechreading cannot be used (56%); (5) lifestyle and social effects (40%); (6) speech production (14%); and (7) the reduction of tinnitus (7%). Disadvantages were reported in: (1) equipment malfunction (54%); (2) environmental sound perception (53%); (3) speech perception when speechreading can be used (26%); (4) psychological effects (12%); (5) speech perception when speechreading is not used (21%); and (6) lifestyle and social effects (9%). Concerns were also noted about the cost of surgery (14%). Thirty patients had tinnitus preoperatively. Without hearing sound through the implant, 70 percent of these indicated that the cochlear implant had a positive effect on their tinnitus. When listening to speech through the implant, 83 percent reported that their tinnitus was reduced.