Shortlisted Work
ASSESSMENT OF COMMUNICATIVE BENEFITS AND IMPACT ON THE QUALITY OF COCHLEAR IMPLANTATION IN PATIENTS OVER THE AGE OF 60
Increasing life expectancy, an ageing population, and the current life model make the impact of hearing loss increasingly important. Non-rehabilitated deep hearing loss causes a reduction in communication skills and social interaction, decreases personal autonomy, contributes to isolation, and ultimately reduces people’s quality of life, especially in elderly people where other conditions often converge. Despite its high prevalence, it is often under diagnosed and under treated, so the benefits of cochlear implantation met be demonstrated and disclosed where necessary.
Several studies show the communicative benefits achieved through cochlear implantation in patients over the age of 60. Older people have ranges of post-implantation verbal discrimination that, although satisfactory, are worse than younger patients (Chatelin, 2004; Migirov, 2010). However, audiological assessment is not sufficient to study the benefits of cochlear implantation, as it does not represent the change in patients’ lives: subjective factors must also be studied with specific tools to quantify the improvement in overall quality of life.
The goals of this study were to quantify the improvement in quality of life of patients using cochlear implants over the age of sixty, study their relationship with the target audiological benefits achieved, and determine the impact on specific areas of everyday life.
Reference: Guerra, G. (2013): “Assessment of communicative benefits and impact on the quality of cochlear implantation in patients over the age of 60”. FIAPAS Journal, April-June 2014, No.149, Expert Opinion