OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between perceived sound quality and auditory emotion recognition in children with cochlear implants (CIs) and to compare auditory emotion recognition and hearing-related quality of life (HRQoL) between pediatric CI users and age-matched normal-hearing peers.
Audiologists fitting pediatric CI patients should be aware that perceived sound quality may influence emotion recognition differently across emotion types; however, the study is preliminary and no specific protocol changes are indicated until findings are replicated in larger samples.
Understanding emotion-specific gaps in auditory perception for CI users could inform more targeted rehabilitation goals beyond speech intelligibility.
- 01Perceived sound quality and emotion recognition are linked in pediatric CI users, but the relationship is emotion-specific.
- 02Published ahead of print in the American Journal of Audiology (doi:10.1044/2026_AJA-26-00021).
- 03Findings suggest emotion recognition is not uniformly affected by sound quality across all emotions.
- 04Results could inform broader outcome measures beyond speech clarity in pediatric CI rehabilitation.
There is an emotion-specific association between perceived sound quality and auditory emotion recognition in children with cochlear implants.
studypartially supported- PMID
- 42348361
- DOI
- 10.1044/2026_AJA-26-00021.
- Journal
- American Journal of Audiology
- Publication type
- research_article
- Evidence level
- 4
- Population
- Children with cochlear implants
- Intervention
- Assessment of perceived sound quality and auditory emotion recognition
Primary outcomes
Perceived sound quality ratings; Auditory emotion recognition accuracy