Cochlear Implant Users’ Experiences of Built, Sound and Social School Environments

Deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) students with cochlear implants (CI) are increasingly attending mainstream schools, but often encounter barriers to social participation during peer interactions, particularly in informal settings such as recess, which are often dynamic and unstructured. This study explores how environmental factors and individual adaptation strategies shape these social experiences. Interviews were conducted with 13 CI users aged 17 to 27 who attended mainstream education in the Netherlands or Germany. Thematic content analysis revealed four themes and twelve sub-themes around social barriers encountered by CI users, including difficulties socializing, sound and built environment barriers, social environment barriers, and adaptive strategies. Findings are discussed against existing literature, emphasizing the social and emotional aspects of inclusion. In line with a growing paradigm shift in inclusive education, these results underscore the need to move towards more structural changes in educational environments that facilitate more equitable social access for DHH students using CIs.