App-Based Self-Adjustment—User Behavior and Adjustment Practices of Cochlear Implant Users in Everyday Life

This study evaluated the effectiveness and usage of a smartphone application for adjusting the hearing impression of cochlear implants or hearing aids in everyday contexts. Building on previous laboratory research that demonstrated subjective auditory perception improvements through personalized settings, this research aimed to confirm these findings in real-life scenarios. Additionally, it analyzes user behavior and adaptation practices. Over a period of six months, 15 participants, including both bimodal and bilateral cochlear implant recipients, employed a self-adjustment app in their everyday lives. This application enabled them to modify the auditory experience through two distinct user interfaces and store their configurations as accessible programs. The collected data indicated that all participants were able to operate the app, and 13 of 15 participants successfully used the app throughout the whole study. In contrast to our previous findings, the acoustic environment did not affect frequency settings but did influence the choice of user interface. Bimodal users more frequently adjusted the settings for each ear independently compared to bilateral users. Most participants stated that they would also use the app outside of this study.