The sound quality with my cochlear implant (CI) was clear from the first day. I started an auditory training program as soon as I got home from my activation appointment. Each day I noticed improvements. My eyes were shining! I was beyond happy.
Regarding the study described in the reel, the 255 people wore devices evenly split between Advanced Bionics, Cochlear Corporation, and Med-El. The average experience at the time of the second questionnaire ranged from 4-8 years.
This study was conducted primarily to compare perception of sound quality with conventional cochlear implants compared to implants for SSD (single sided deafness). The researchers found that “Alterations to the spectral composition of the signal are less salient to experienced conventional patients than to experienced SSD-CI patients.” This is likely due to the absence, for conventional patients, of an exemplar in a normally hearing ear against which to judge CI sound quality.
Related post: What does a live concert sound like with a cochlear implant?