Kara J. Vasil

Background Standards for auditory rehabilitation are currently lacking for adults who receive cochlear implants. Speech recognition outcomes are highly variable, and many adults with cochlear implants present with suboptimal performance. Functional real-life communication abilities are not routinely measured clinically and are not strongly linked to performance on traditional measures of speech recognition. In fact, even individuals with relatively good speech recognition outcomes often present with persistent communication difficulties. In contrast to pediatric cochlear implant users, speech-language pathologists are not routinely involved in the rehabilitation of adults who receive cochlear implants. Purpose The purpose of this article is to describe the value of including a speech-language pathologist in a comprehensive approach to auditory rehabilitation for adults with cochlear implants. Method The theoretical and clinical foundations of incorporating a speech-language pathologist into an adult auditory rehabilitation program are discussed. A description of the skills and potential roles of the speech-language pathologist for providing adult cochlear implant rehabilitation services is presented, along with potential barriers to implementation. Conclusion Person-centered management of postlingually deafened adults with cochlear implants can be augmented by a more complete approach utilizing the skill set of a speech-language pathologist. Supplemental Material https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.14669652

Purpose: Cognitive screening tools to identify patients at risk for cognitive deficits are frequently used by clinicians who work with aging populations in hearing health care. Although some studies show improvements in performance on cognitive screening exams when hearing loss intervention is provided in the form of a hearing aid or cochlear implant (CI), it is worth examining whether these improvements are attributable to increased auditory access to test items. This study aimed to examine whether performance and pass rate on a cognitive screening measure, the Montréal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), improve as a result of CI, whether improved performance on auditory-based test items drives changes in MoCA performance, and whether postoperative MoCA performance relates to post-CI speech perception ability.Method: Data were collected in adult CI candidates pre-implantation and 6 months postimplantation to examine the effect of intervention on MoCA performance. Participants were 77 CI users between the ages of 55 and 85 years. Participants completed the MoCA, administered audiovisually, and speech perception testing with monosyllabic (CNC) words at both intervals.Results: Compared to 31 participants pre-operatively, 45 participants passed the MoCA postoperatively, which was a significant difference in pass rate. An improvement in MoCA scores could be attributed primarily to improvement in the “Delayed Recall” test domain, which was auditory based. Post-CI MoCA performance was related to post-CI CNC speech perception performance.Conclusions: Improved performance and pass rates were demonstrated on the traditional MoCA test of cognitive screening from before to 6 months after CI. Improvements could primarily be attributed to better performance on a delayed recall task dependent on auditory access, and post-CI MoCA scores were related to post-CI speech perception abilities. Further studies are needed to investigate the application of cognitive screening tools in patients receiving hearing loss interventions, and these interventions' impact on patients' real-world functioning.

Purpose: The Cochlear Implant Skills Review (CISR) was developed as a measure of cochlear implant (CI) users' skills and knowledge regarding device use. This study aimed to determine intra- and interrater reliability and agreement and establish construct validity for the CISR. Method: In this study, the CISR was developed and administered to a cohort of 30 adult CI users. Participants included new CI users with less than 1 year of CI experience and experienced CI users with greater than 1 year of CI experience. The CISR administration required participants to demonstrate skills using the various features of their CI processors. Intra- and interrater reliability were assessed using intraclass correlation coefficients, agreement was assessed using Cohen's kappa, and construct validity was assessed by relating CISR performance to duration of CI use. Results: Overall reliability for the entire instrument was 92.7%. Inter- and intrarater agreement were generally substantial or higher. Duration of CI use was a significant predictor of CISR performance. Conclusions: The CISR is a reliable and valid assessment measure of device skills and knowledge for adult CI users. Clinicians can use this tool to evaluate areas of needed instruction and counseling and to assess users' skills over time.

Purpose The aims of this study were (a) to longitudinally assess environmental sound recognition (ESR) before and after cochlear implantation in a sample of postlingually deafened adults and (b) to...

Background Objective speech recognition tasks are widely used to measure performance of adult cochlear implant (CI) users; however, the relationship of these measures with patient-reported quality of life (QOL) remains unclear. A comprehensive QOL measure, the Nijmegen Cochlear Implant Questionnaire (NCIQ), has historically shown a weak association with speech recognition performance, but closer examination may indicate stronger relations between QOL and objective auditory performance, particularly when examining a broad range of auditory skills. Purpose The aim of the present study was to assess the NCIQ for relations to speech and environmental sound recognition measures. Identifying associations with certain QOL domains, subdomains, and subitems would provide evidence that speech and environmental sound recognition measures are relevant to QOL. A lack of relations among QOL and various auditory abilities would suggest potential areas of patient-reported difficulty that could be better measured or targeted. Research Design A cross-sectional study was performed in adult CI users to examine relations among subjective QOL ratings on NCIQ domains, subdomains, and subitems with auditory outcome measures. Study Sample Participants were 44 adult experienced CI users. All participants were postlingually deafened and had met candidacy requirements for traditional cochlear implantation. Data Collection and Analysis Participants completed the NCIQ as well as several speech and environmental sound recognition tasks: monosyllabic word recognition, standard and high-variability sentence recognition, audiovisual sentence recognition, and environmental sound identification. Bivariate correlation analyses were performed to investigate relations among patient-reported NCIQ scores and the functional auditory measures. Results The total NCIQ score was not strongly correlated with any objective auditory outcome measures. The physical domain and the advanced sound perception subdomain related to several measures, in particular monosyllabic word recognition and AzBio sentence recognition. Fourteen of the 60 subitems on the NCIQ were correlated with at least one auditory measure. Conclusions Several subitems demonstrated moderate-to-strong correlations with auditory measures, indicating that these auditory measures are relevant to the QOL. A lack of relations with other subitems suggests a need for the development of objective measures that will better capture patients' hearing-related obstacles. Clinicians may use information obtained through the NCIQ to better estimate real-world performance, which may support improved counseling and development of recommendations for CI patients.

Hypothesis: For experienced adult cochlear implant (CI) users who have reached a plateau in performance, a clinician-guided aural rehabilitation (CGAR) approach can improve speech recognition and hearing-related quality of life (QOL). Background: A substantial number of CI users do not reach optimal performance in terms of speech recognition ability and/or personal communication goals. Although self-guided computerized auditory training programs have grown in popularity, compliance and efficacy for these programs are poor. We propose that CGAR can improve speech recognition and hearing-related QOL in experienced CI users. Methods: Twelve adult CI users were enrolled in an 8-week CGAR program guided by a speech-language pathologist and audiologist. Nine patients completed the program along with pre-AR and immediate post-AR testing of speech recognition (AzBio sentences in quiet and in multitalker babble, Consonant-Nucleus-Consonant words in quiet), QOL (Nijmegen Cochlear Implant Questionnaire, Hearing Handicap Inventory for Adults/Elderly, and Speech, Spatial and Qualities of Hearing Scale), and neurocognitive functioning (working memory capacity, information-processing speed, inhibitory control, speed of lexical/phonological access, and nonverbal reasoning). Pilot data for these nine patients are presented. Results: From pre-CGAR to post-CGAR, group mean improvements in word recognition were found. Improvements were also demonstrated on some composite and subscale measures of QOL. Patients who demonstrated improvements in word recognition were those who performed most poorly at baseline. Conclusions: CGAR represents a potentially efficacious approach to improving speech recognition and QOL for experienced CI users. Limitations and considerations in implementing and studying aural rehabilitation approaches are discussed.