Musical Backgrounds, Listening Habits, and Aesthetic Enjoyment of Adult Cochlear Implant Recipients

Abstract

AbstractThis paper describes the listening habits and musical enjoyment of postlingually deafened adults who use cochlear implants. Sixty-five implant recipients (35 females, 30 males) participated in a survey containing questions about musical background, prior involvement in music, and audiologic success with the implant in various listening circumstances. Responses were correlated with measures of cognition and speech recognition. Sixty-seven implant recipients completed daily diaries (7 consecutive days) in which they reported hours spent in specific music activities. Results indicate a wide range of success with music. In general, people enjoy music less postimplantation than prior to hearing loss. Musical enjoyment is influenced by the listening environment (e.g., a quiet room) and features of the music. Abbreviations: HIGH = high school, POST = adult education, PRIM = primary school, SCT = Sequence Completion Test, SE = standard error, TERT = tertiary, VMT = Visual Monitoring Task, VMT1 = Visual Monitoring Task one per second rate, VMT2 = Visual Monitoring Task two per second rate.