Study with a cochlear implant

Studying with a cochlear implant in Austria is possible, but it requires individual effort, institutional support and social sensitivity.

Alexander and Matthias Pusker

Studying with a Cochlear Implant in Austria

Studying in Austria is considered a privilege: open universities, a rich academic tradition and comparatively good access to higher education attract thousands of young people every year. But for students with hearing impairments, the path to graduation is often a particular challenge. Users of cochlear implants, in short: CIs, experience everyday study life with a mixture of great opportunities and very specific barriers.

However, hearing with a CI does not remain identical to natural hearing. Side noises, reverberation in large lecture halls or the fast-speaking pace of some lecturers can make everyday study difficult. For students with cochlear implants, this often means double concentration, additional preparation and sometimes the courage to actively demand support.

©Adobe Stock

How universities support

In recent years, Austria has made great efforts to make its universities more accessible. Almost all universities now have so-called disability representatives or centres for barrier-free study. These provide advice, organise technical aids or assist in the application for compensation – for example, additional examination time or the provision of notes.

Many lecture halls are now equipped with induction loops or radio transmission systems, so that the spoken word can be transmitted directly into the implant’s audio processor. This significantly reduces interference noise. But the reality is not the same everywhere: some lecture halls are not yet technically equipped, and quality depends heavily on the commitment of the respective university.

Digital teaching remains an important tool even after the pandemic period. ©Adobe Stock

Opportunities of digitalisation

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced many universities to adopt digital teaching formats. For CI users, this was both a curse and a blessing. Online lectures with subtitles or recordings offered a huge advantage: content could be played multiple times, volumes could be individually adjusted and automatic transcriptions could be used. On the other hand, technical malfunctions or insufficient accessibility of platforms made participation more difficult.

Digital teaching remains an important tool even in the “post-pandemic period”. Many universities have recognised that recorded videos and subtitles benefit all students, but for CI users they are often crucial to learning on an equal footing with their fellow students.

Studying with cochlear implant is possible in Austria

An inclusive university experience means more than just accessible technology — it also requires awareness: lecturers who consistently use microphones, fellow students who show consideration by speaking clearly, and a campus culture that sees diversity not as an exception, but as the norm.

We are two brothers studying at different universities, each with our own unique experiences — you can read more about them in the info boxes.

We’re happy to answer any questions about studying with a CI. If you’re interested, we’d also love to set up a group for digital exchange among students with CIs. Just get in touch with us at jugend@ci-a.at!

PROFILE

  • Name: Alexander Pusker
  • Age: 25 years
  • CI user: On one ear since 2001 and on both ears since 2004
  • Study: Law in Vienna since 2019
  • Email: jugend@ci-a.at

Alexander and Matthias Pusker make use of the opportunities available to CI users within their faculties. ©Adobe Stock

My experiences as a Viennese student with CI

With cochlear implant at the University of Vienna

I have been studying law at the Juridicum Vienna since 2019 and will soon be completing my studies. Since the program is mostly designed in a self-study manner, I am not exposed to any real disadvantages due to the cochlear implant. During lectures and exercises, I always make sure that I sit at the front to hear and understand the lecturers as best I can. Only in the Audimax, the largest auditorium in the Juridicum, do I sometimes only catch one of the back seats. It can happen that I don't get to know everything – also because the speakers sometimes don't use the microphone consistently. However, this problem does not only affect me as a CI user, but also some normal hearing fellow students. In smaller lecture halls, there are no problems in this respect.

The law degree programme is one of the more complex courses at the university, so that lecturers are often asked to repeat the material, also due to difficulties in understanding. This is an advantage for me, as I can let the content go through my head again.

At the Juridicum, most exams are oral, but the CI is not a disadvantage: the professors are very lenient in this regard. Only during the corona pandemic, when practically everything was online, was it more difficult to do lectures, exercises and also exams via Zoom or Microsoft Teams. The Juridicum Vienna lags behind other universities in these technologies: other universities make recordings of lectures available so that students can listen to them several times. Transcriptions would also have made sense or would still make sense. Unfortunately, all this is completely unfamiliar to my university. But these problems also affected all students, because the problems lay with the technology of the Juridicum.

Extended examination time and own scholarships

In the few written exams that I have had or will have, I am entitled to a 25% extension of the examination time due to my CIs. I have to apply for this disadvantage compensation at the study programme management in time for each individual examination. However, the exact deviation from normal examination conditions is different for each university: I have also heard of double examination time. I turned to the Centre for Accessible Studying at the University of Vienna, whose staff are really very nice and supportive. There I had a personal consultation, during which we determined this test deviation. I still had to get this approved by the head of the study programme management, with the centre for barrier-free study taking over the communication for me. That went smoothly – with this “general approval,” I can now just as easily apply for an adjustment of exam conditions for written tests.

I also recommend that every student using a CI be informed about grants and scholarships: The University of Vienna, for example, offers a scholarship for students with disabilities every year, which I have already enjoyed several times.

PROFILE

  • Name: Matthias Pusker
  • Age: 25 years
  • CI user: On one ear since 2001 and on both ears since 2003
  • Study: Medicine in Graz since 2023
    JKU Linz since 2020
  • Email: jugend@ci-a.at

The degree programmes differ considerably!

Study experience with CI: distance learning in Linz and studying in Graz

Since 2020 I have been studying law at the Johannes Keppler University in Linz and since 2023 I have been a student at the Medical University of Graz. These two courses differ considerably in teaching.

In law, I have the advantage that it's distance learning. As a result, I can watch the lectures online as often as I like up to two weeks after the date. That helped me a lot: If I didn't understand something or want to hear it again, I rewind and look at it again and again – until I understood it. The exams are often oral. There's no problem with asking the professor if I didn't understand the question.

In contrast, medicine in Graz is a very family-orientated and practice-orientated course of program. In the first semester, we were divided into internship groups of twelve students each, who complete all courses and exercises of the semester together. As a result, we have a family environment and can ask the professor or tutor without any problems.

Sit at the front and ask

In the medical lectures, we receive the presentation slides, and some lectures can also be watched online — there, I can adjust the volume to follow along better. Only sometimes the microphone isn’t switched on during lectures, or classmates in the rows in front of or behind me start chatting, and I can’t hear the professor properly. In those situations, I have to step out of my comfort zone and ask the professor to repeat what was said.

It also helps me to sit in the front rows, since the lecture hall is quite large. Some lectures, such as anatomy, are also available online, so I can revisit them anytime. In the preclinical phase — the first four semesters of medical school — most exams are written, except for anatomy, biochemistry, and medical chemistry. So far, I haven’t had any issues with oral exams because the professors speak very clearly and are willing to repeat questions if there are any hearing difficulties. I haven’t requested extended exam time yet, as I’m currently managing well within the regular time limits.