Remote care of cochlear implant users

Abstract

Hearing loss, or deafness, is a very common condition which develops as people get older. There are two main types of hearing loss: conductive hearing loss, where the problem is in the middle ear (i.e. in the ear drum) and sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL), where the problem lies in the inner ear (cochlea), or the nerve that carries information from the ear to the brain for interpretation. The cochlea is a complex part of the inner each which is responsible for converting sound waves into electrical messages which the brain can interpret. When the cochlea becomes damaged, standard hearing aids (which work by making sounds louder) do not work and so a cochlear implant is often recommended. A cochlear implant (CI) is an electronic medical device which is designed to do the work of the damaged cochlea. It consists of an external sound processor and internal parts which work to convert sounds into electrical signals. Once a patient has had the surgery to install a CI, they commit to regular adjustment and rehabilitation appointments in the first year and then yearly follow-up appointments, in order to ensure that the implant is working properly. These appointments can be very inconvenient for the patient as they often have to travel a long way to specialist implant centres. It is thought that for many patients, these appointments are not necessary and that patients would benefit from having more control over their care plans. A possible solution for this could be using remote care, in which the patient is able to access support and information online and can keep medical staff up to date with their condition from their own homes. The aim of this study is to find out whether a remote care plan would work well for patients with cochlear implants.

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ORCID for Helen Cullington: orcid.org/0000-0002-5093-2020

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