Cochlear implant processor satisfaction gets population norms

A study published in Frontiers in Psychology on 7 September 2026 establishes reference values for how satisfied cochlear implant users are with the audio processor they wear. It analyses 861 responses to the Audio Processor Satisfaction Questionnaire, collected in Germany and the United Kingdom between 2019 and 2023.

Median total satisfaction was 8.7 out of 10. The finding with the most practical weight is the link to use: for each additional point on the total score, the odds of wearing the implant three hours longer per day were about 44 per cent higher. Users with single-sided deafness reported marginally lower satisfaction than people implanted bilaterally.

All six authors are employed by MED-EL Elektromedizinische Geräte GmbH, which makes cochlear implants and the processors the questionnaire asks about, a conflict the paper declares.

Daily wear time is what separates hearing restored in practice from hearing restored in a clinic, and the authors present these values as a reference an individual patient’s score can be compared against.