Self-reported cochlear implant management skills: development and validation of the self-administered Cochlear Implant Management Skills (CIMS-self) survey

Objective: A self-administered device management survey was developed and validated to investigate the ability of cochlear implant recipients to self-report physical handling and care for their hearing implant device(s) and to identify factors that may influence self-reported management skills. Design: Survey development and validation. A prospective convenience cohort design study. Setting: Specialist hearing implant clinic. Participants: Forty-nine post-lingually hearing impaired, adult cochlear implant recipients, at least 12 months postoperative. Main outcome measures: Survey test–retest reliability, responsiveness, criterion validity and sensitivity and specificity compared to clinician evaluation of device management skills. Correlations between self-reported management skills and participant demographic, audiometric, cognitive function, clinical outcomes and device factors. Results: The self-administered Cochlear Implant Management Skills survey was developed, demonstrating high test–retest reliability (ICC = 0.884, P < 0.001; CI 95%: 0.721–0.952), responsiveness to intervention (management skills training) [t(20) = −3.245, P = 0.004], criterion validity (ICC = 0.765, P < 0.001; CI 95%: 0.584–0.868) and sensitivity (0.89). No associations were found between self-reported management skills and participant factors. Conclusions: This study demonstrated that a self-report survey is an effective method for the evaluation of skills required for cochlear implant device management.