Post-implant outcomes in adults (I): Rapid improvement in quality of life Cochlear implants improve overall psychological and social functioning in people with hearing loss. In a multicenter study, Baumgartner et al. (2007) evaluated the improvement in quality of life of implant recipients in a variety of ways. The study used the Nijmegen Quality of Life Questionnaire (Hinderink et al., 2000) to assess implant recipients’ subjective perceptions of changes in quality of life after cochlear implantation. Basic and advanced sound perception, verbal expression, changes in self-esteem and changes in social activities were included. All implant recipients showed significant improvements in all of these areas within one month of start-up, and improvements continued to improve over time (see Figure 11). The patients’ self-esteem as well as activity and socialization improved. These data show that the MED-EL cochlear implant system brings about rapid quality of life improvements. Adult Post-Implant Outcomes (II): Benefits for Older Implant Users To evaluate the latest technological advances, Anderson et al. conducted a subjective benefit assessment of older implants using the MED-EL cochlear implant system in 2006. Questions addressed preoperative medical history, postoperative device use, benefits in terms of communication, device operation, and quality of life. The study showed that technological advances (improvements in electrode design), new and faster speech encoding strategies and smaller and better sound processors allowed implant recipients to hear more finely. More than 80% of survey respondents had no difficulty distinguishing male from female voices, distinguishing human voices from ambient sounds and understanding speech without relying on lip reading. The vast majority (91%) of survey respondents felt that cochlear implants improved their quality of life and gave them greater confidence. The results indicate that cochlear implants are beneficial for deaf older adults and are highly successful in increasing speech recognition and improving quality of life.