Fifty-two patients answered the questionnaires. Listening habits (music enjoyment and hours spent listening to music per week) significantly decreased following implantation when compared with the same parameters before deafness. Nevertheless, 52% of the patients enjoyed music post implantation. The quality of musical sound was rated >50 (0-100 scale) for the adjective pairs 'like-dislike', 'sounds like music-doesn't sound like music' and 'natural-mechanical' by most users. Med-el device users obtained better scores in the adjective pair 'sounds like music-doesn't sound like music' than Cochlear device users. Recipients rating higher scores for quality of sound enjoyed music post implantation and had higher total GBI scores than those rating lower scores.

No abstract

Music perception through a cochlear implant is a complex phenomenon that depends on audiological and non-audiological factors.

The Nijmegen Cochlear Implant Questionnaire (NCIQ) is a specific and quantifiable self-assessment health-related quality of life (QoL) questionnaire. It was developed to determine the subjective benefits of a cochlear implant (CI). The present study aimed to determine the validity and reliability of the NCIQ in Spanish. Seventy-six adult, Spanish speaking, CI users and 28 control subjects answered the NCIQ. Reliability of the questionnaire was determined using Cronbach's α coefficient and the validity established using Pearson's correlation coefficient. All questionnaire respondents performed significantly better in all sub-domains with a cochlear implant than before cochlear implantation. The Cronbach's α score exceeded 0.70 in most sub-domains and the total score. The objective measures: bisyllables tested without lip-reading and with masking; and bisyllables, tested without lip-reading and without masking were correlated with the sub-domain 'advanced sound perception'. To determine health-related QoL the NCIQ in Spanish is a reliable self-assessment questionnaire and a valuable instrument in determining the subjective benefit of a CI.

Elderly cochlear implant users experience an improvement in their quality of life, with outcomes similar to those achieved in younger adults. Particular attention must be paid to the possibility of age-related conditions in the elderly that may increase the risks of surgery.