Audiology and Speech Pathology - Theses
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ItemThe pre- and post-operative experiences of families of children who received bilateral cochlear implants( 2015)Objectives: First to document the time spent using both implants and whether the bilaterally implanted children have favoured cochlear implant (CI). Second, to document the factors reported by families, which might have contributed to one implant being less favoured. Also whether anything was done by the family or by the implant clinic before or after the operation, which may have helped to motivate the child to use more the less favoured implant. Method: A study specific questionnaire was sent to parents of children with bilateral CIs (n = 286). The principal selection criteria were: all children who received bilateral cochlear implants before March 2015 and received first implant before 18 years old. A questionnaire measured the pre- and post-operative experiences of families. Items were related to device use and device preference. The questionnaire also sought information about the factors, which may have influenced device use and device preference before and after the operations. Results: On the basis of parent report, 51 of the bilaterally implanted children who had no favoured CI. Forty-seven of them used both implants full time. Twenty-eight of 79 participants had favoured CI and only 10 of them use both implants full time. Simultaneously implanted children are less likely to show a preference for one implants over the other compared to sequentially implanted children. Favoritism may affect the child’s ability to use both CIs full time. Conclusion: Overall, the results indicate primarily positive functional outcomes for children receiving simultaneous bilateral CI. Favoritism might be an issue, which may influence one CI being less favoured particularly in sequentially implanted children. The results are important for evidence-based pre-operative counseling and post-operative re/habilitation, which will help the parents/ primary caregiver(s) to deal with the difficulties and challenges that come with the use of a less favoured implant. The results are also essential for establishing best practice clinical management and re/habilitation sessions in order to support children with bilateral implants and their families.