Relationships Between Speech, Spatial and Qualities of Hearing Short Form SSQ12 Item Scores and their Use in Guiding Rehabilitation for Cochlear Implant Recipients.
Dianne J Mecklenburg, Petra L Graham, Chris J James
PMID 38361477WHAT IT FOUND
Three specific SSQ12 questions predict overall hearing difficulty in cochlear implant users.
Low scores on understanding one person with a TV on, judging vehicle distance, or hearing sound clarity indicate a need for targeted rehabilitation, while high scores suggest the user is coping well.
Key findings
01Self-rated satisfaction with the device was most strongly associated with SSQ12 item Q11, relating to sound clarity, and confidence was most strongly associated with item Q3, relating to speech communication in a multitalker situation.
02We identified three core items, Q1 (single talker), Q8 (loudness), and Q11 (clarity/satisfaction) with the highest scores within their subscales, such that scores for the other items tend to correlate and/or be conditional on scores for the core items.
03Overall, SSQ12 total scores were stable over time ( Figure 1 ) with no evidence of a significant trend by years of experience (Jonckheere–Terpstra p = .85) or between any pairs of experience time points (Kruskal–Wallis p = .08).
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The study relies on self-report data from a survey, which introduces potential recall bias. Participants were recruited via email from a Cochlear database, so the sample may not represent all CI users, particularly those without internet access or who did not respond. The data is cross-sectional, meaning it shows associations at one point in time rather than tracking how individual patients changed over time. The study did not include pre-implant scores, so it cannot measure the specific benefit gained from the implant itself.
Declared interests
The study was sponsored by Cochlear Europe Limited. One author is an employee of Cochlear, and two others are paid consultants for Cochlear Europe. The survey was designed by Cochlear Ltd.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that high scores on the core items (Q1, Q8, Q11) mean the patient has no hearing difficulties at all. These items predict overall trends, but a patient can still struggle with specific complex tasks like separating voices in a crowd. Use these scores to prioritize rehabilitation needs, not to rule them out.