Examining the Readability of Cochlear Implant Education Materials

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the readability of both printed and online cochlear implant (CI) education materials across the three Food and Drug Administration–approved CI manufacturers. Method: Educational materials for potential CI recipients were obtained from all three CI manufacturers currently available in the United States: Advanced Bionics, Cochlear, and MED-EL. These CI materials were transcribed by the authors from physical and electronic PDF materials into a Microsoft Word document. The data were then analyzed using Readability Studio, a quantitative linguistics software application programmed to read text and assign grade-level readability scores to the text. Data were analyzed against four readability measures, commonly used in health literacy literature. Results: Analysis revealed that the majority of the educational materials, both printed and online, were above the recommended sixth-grade reading level. In fact, many of these materials were written at a grade level twice as high as what most people can easily understand. Conclusions: Variability in word complexity, specialized vocabulary, and dense content can make health decisions difficult for many individuals. The study highlights the need to revise educational materials to improve readability while retaining essential information. Future research may explore alternative formats and assess additional resources to enhance comprehension and support for implant candidates.