Self-Reported Listening Habits and Enjoyment of Music among Adult Cochlear Implant Recipients

Abstract

Objectives: We sought to assess the associations between self-reported listening habits and enjoyment of music, and the following variables: Age at implantation, gender, prelingual versus postlingual deafness, duration of deafness, duration of cochlear implant (CI) use, type of CI, speech coding strategy, and speech perception abilities. Methods: A questionnaire on listening habits and enjoyment of music before the onset of deafness and after implantation was sent to 85 adult CI recipients who had been using the devices for at least 6 months. Results: Of the 53 responders, 39 (73.6%) listened to music after implantation. Listening to music was not significantly related to age at implantation, gender, duration of deafness, duration of CI use, type of CI device, speech coding strategy, or open-set speech perception abilities. The 14 nonlisteners were postlingually deafened. The ratings of enjoyment were the same for 22.6% of patients, improved for 26.4%, and worse for 50.9%. Only 2 of 13 patients who played a musical instrument and 14 of 24 patients who sang before the onset of deafness resumed their musical activities. Conclusions: Despite the decline in listening habits and in the enjoyment of music after cochlear implantation, most patients do listen to music. The changes in listening habits and enjoyment were not related to the selected background variables.