International Journal of Otorhinolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery | March 2022 | Vol 8 | Issue 3 Page 202
International Journal of Otorhinolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery
Jain A et al. Int J Otorhinolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2022 Mar;8(3):202-209
http://www.ijorl.com
pISSN 2454-5929 | eISSN 2454-5937
Original Research Article
Comparison of the quality-of-life benefit received from cochlear
implants and hearing aids among hearing-impaired adults
Ayash Jain
1
*, Rajani Mathur
1
, Sumit Mrig
2
, Punam Kumari
3
,
Samriddhi Nijhawan
4
, Arun K. Agarwal
5
INTRODUCTION
Both hearing aids and cochlear implants help people with
hearing loss to communicate better. Hearing aids do not
require surgery and are best suited for people with less
severe hearing loss and fair speech understanding.
Cochlear implants require surgery and are best suited for
people with more severe hearing loss and poor speech
understanding.
1
Hearing loss brings serious health implication as it is the
third most common chronic condition among other health
conditions.
2
About two-thirds of adults ≥70 years of age
have hearing loss. Individuals with hearing impairment
have poorer cognitive, physical, and mental function as
well as lower health-related quality of life. A study of
2304 hearing-impaired adults older than 50 years found
that adults with untreated hearing loss were more likely
to suffer from sadness, depression, anxiety, social
isolation, and insecurity. It has also been found that the
ABSTRACT
Background: To compare the quality-of-life (QOL) benefit received from cochlear implants (CIs) and hearing aids
(HAs) among hearing-impaired adults. Using Case Control Study design, health-related questionnaire based on
indices for audiological data and quality of life (QOL) was prepared. The questionnaire was used to compare the
satisfaction level of users of Cochlear Implants with that of Hearing aids.
Methods: Retrospective and prospective data pandemic from December 2019 to May 2021 was collected. Twenty-
five cases of adult Cochlear Implant users were compared against equal number of age-matched control cases of users
Hearing aids. Questionnaire to assess the influence of either on quality of life was mailed to the receipients.
Results: Scores for the Hearing aids group matched very well with the scores for the Cochlear Implant group. Overall
QoL scores were extensively higher for all 6 subdomains. \Multiple evaluation of variance showed greater QOL
benefit in CI than HA users across the physical, psychological, and social subdomains (p<0.001).
Conclusions: Cochlear implants provide extensive benefit for those with profound hearing loss as hearing aids bring
for those with less severe hearing loss.
Keywords: Cochlear implant, Hearing loss, Hearing aids, Quality of life
1
Department of Pharmacology and Clinical Research, Delhi Pharmaceutical Sciences and Research University, MB
Road, New Delhi, India
2
ENT, DNB, MNAMS Principal Consultant an Head Max Smart Super Speciality Hospital, Delhi
3
MASLP, Sankalp, ENT and Cochlear Implant Center, Delhi, India
4
BASLP, Masters in Psychology, Sankalp ENT and Cochlear Implant Center, Delhi
5
Former President Delhi Medical Council(MBBS,MS), Head of ENT department, Maulana Azad Medical College,
New Delhi
Received: 11 December 2021
Revised: 08 January 2022
Accepted: 01 February 2022
*Correspondence:
Dr. Ayash Jain,
E-mail: aayashjain@gmail.com
Copyright: © the author(s), publisher and licensee Medip Academy. This is an open-access article distributed under
the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License, which permits unrestricted non-commercial
use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.18203/issn.2454-5929.ijohns20220469