Ausmaß depressiver Symptome bei unilateral und bilateral Cochleaimplantat-Versorgten

Background: Previous studies on depressive symptoms in cochlear implant (CI) users often considered small groups of unilateral or bilateral CI users separately. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to analyze and compare the extent of depressive symptoms in bilateral CI users and different groups of unilateral CI users within one study. Methods: A total of 331 CI users were given a short form of the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-V) at an early stage of rehabilitation after surgery. These were subdivided into 45 bilateral CI users, 204 unilateral CI users with a hearing aid on the contralateral side, 25 unilateral CI users with a hearing impaired but unaided contralateral side, and 57 unilateral CI users with a normal hearing contralateral side. The influence of provision mode of the contralateral side, age, gender, and speech recognition with CI in the Freiburg Monosyllabic Word Test on the extent of depressive symptoms was examined. Results: Bilateral CI users had significantly lower total BDI-V scores than the reference group of unilateral CI users with hearing aids on the contralateral side. Age and gender showed similar effects as in other studies, while speech recognition with CI showed no significant influence on the extent of depressive symptoms. The mean BDI-V total score of the overall sample of all CI users was within the normal range of the BDI-V. Discussion: Bilateral CI, when indicated, seems to be associated with a low level of depressive symptoms. Possible explanations could be the rehabilitation already undergone after the first CI-provision as well as the relative exclusion of a further progression of hearing impairment in bilateral CI users.