Longitudinal Cochlear Implant Outcomes in Danish Adults: Changes in Speech Recognition, Self-Reported Hearing Ability, Hearing-Related Quality of Life, and Tinnitus

Baungaard, Line Husted; Sandvej, Matilde Grønborg; Nellemose, Mathilde Marie Overmark; Hestbæk, Marianne Kyhne; Brændgaard, Louise Brasen; Hansen, Mie Stenner; Jørgensen, Mie Lærkegård; Cayé-Thomasen, Per; Percy-Smith, Lone

doi:10.3390/jcm14176124

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Longitudinal Cochlear Implant Outcomes in Danish Adults: Changes in Speech Recognition, Self-Reported Hearing Ability, Hearing-Related Quality of Life, and Tinnitus

by

Line Husted Baungaard

^1,*,†

,

Matilde Grønborg Sandvej

¹,

Mathilde Marie Overmark Nellemose

¹,

Marianne Kyhne Hestbæk

¹,

Louise Brasen Brændgaard

¹,

Mie Stenner Hansen

¹,

Mie Lærkegård Jørgensen

²

,

Per Cayé-Thomasen

¹

and

Lone Percy-Smith

^1,†

¹

Copenhagen Hearing and Balance Centre, Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) and Audiology Clinic, Rigshospitalet, Inge Lehmanns Vej 8, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark

²

Hearing Systems, Department of Health Technology, Technical University of Denmark, 2800 Kongens Lyngby, Denmark

^*

Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

^†

These authors contributed equally to this work.

J. Clin. Med. 2025, 14(17), 6124; https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm14176124

Submission received: 23 June 2025 / Revised: 10 August 2025 / Accepted: 17 August 2025 / Published: 29 August 2025

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Challenges and Prospects in Cochlear Implantation)

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Abstract

Background: This study assessed the efficacy and effectiveness of cochlear implants (CIs) by examining changes in speech recognition, self-reported hearing ability, hearing-related quality of life, and tinnitus over two years. Methods: A prospective two-year longitudinal study included 50 adult users of CI. Speech recognition in quiet and background noise was measured using Dantale I (with/without visual cues; fixed 0 dB SNR) and the adaptive Hearing in Noise Test (HINT). Self-reported outcomes were obtained using the Speech, Spatial, and Qualities of Hearing Scale (SSQ-12), Nijmegen Cochlear Implant Questionnaire (NCIQ), and Tinnitus Handicap Inventory (THI). Results: In post-lingually deafened users of CI (

N = 46

), Dantale with visual cues improved from 74.2% to 94.9% (mean difference = 20.7% [95% CI: 15.8, 25.6],

p < 0.001

,

d_{z} = 1.83

), and without visual cues from 58.9% to 92.1% (33.1% [28.0, 38.2],

p < 0.001

,

d_{z} = 2.83

). Dantale with background noise improved from 23.4% to 61.7% (37.6% [32.4, 42.8],

p < 0.001

,

d_{z} = 3.13

), and adaptive HINT from 8.6 to 4.2 dB SNR (

- 5.8

[−7.0, −4.6],

p < 0.001

,

d_{z} = 3.10

). NCIQ scores increased from 292.6 to 436.3 points (145.3 [122.8, 167.8],

p < 0.001

,

d_{z} = 3.11

), and SSQ-12 improved by 0.60 points [0.18, 1.02] from 1 to 2 years (

p = 0.015

,

d_{z} = 0.86

). Tinnitus severity remained low at the group level, with individual fluctuations over time. Conclusions: Danish adult users of CI showed substantial and sustained improvements in speech recognition and hearing-related quality of life over two years, with adaptive speech-in-noise testing proving particularly sensitive for detecting long-term changes.

Keywords: adults; adaptive hearing in noise test (HINT); cochlear implant (CI); hearing-related quality of life (HR-QOL); longitudinal outcomes; patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs); speech recognition.

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MDPI and ACS Style

Baungaard, L.H.; Sandvej, M.G.; Nellemose, M.M.O.; Hestbæk, M.K.; Brændgaard, L.B.; Hansen, M.S.; Jørgensen, M.L.; Cayé-Thomasen, P.; Percy-Smith, L. Longitudinal Cochlear Implant Outcomes in Danish Adults: Changes in Speech Recognition, Self-Reported Hearing Ability, Hearing-Related Quality of Life, and Tinnitus. J. Clin. Med. 2025, 14, 6124. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm14176124

AMA Style

Baungaard LH, Sandvej MG, Nellemose MMO, Hestbæk MK, Brændgaard LB, Hansen MS, Jørgensen ML, Cayé-Thomasen P, Percy-Smith L. Longitudinal Cochlear Implant Outcomes in Danish Adults: Changes in Speech Recognition, Self-Reported Hearing Ability, Hearing-Related Quality of Life, and Tinnitus. Journal of Clinical Medicine. 2025; 14(17):6124. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm14176124

Chicago/Turabian Style

Baungaard, Line Husted, Matilde Grønborg Sandvej, Mathilde Marie Overmark Nellemose, Marianne Kyhne Hestbæk, Louise Brasen Brændgaard, Mie Stenner Hansen, Mie Lærkegård Jørgensen, Per Cayé-Thomasen, and Lone Percy-Smith. 2025. "Longitudinal Cochlear Implant Outcomes in Danish Adults: Changes in Speech Recognition, Self-Reported Hearing Ability, Hearing-Related Quality of Life, and Tinnitus" Journal of Clinical Medicine 14, no. 17: 6124. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm14176124

APA Style

Baungaard, L. H., Sandvej, M. G., Nellemose, M. M. O., Hestbæk, M. K., Brændgaard, L. B., Hansen, M. S., Jørgensen, M. L., Cayé-Thomasen, P., & Percy-Smith, L. (2025). Longitudinal Cochlear Implant Outcomes in Danish Adults: Changes in Speech Recognition, Self-Reported Hearing Ability, Hearing-Related Quality of Life, and Tinnitus. Journal of Clinical Medicine, 14(17), 6124. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm14176124

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Longitudinal Cochlear Implant Outcomes in Danish Adults: Changes in Speech Recognition, Self-Reported Hearing Ability, Hearing-Related Quality of Life, and Tinnitus

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