Background:
The purpose of this article is to propose how the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF), particularly the ICF core sets for hearing loss, can be used to plan and evaluate the holistic (re)habilitation of cochlear implant recipients.

Material and methods:
The opinions of HearRing experts were gathered on what – based on their clinical experience – are the most relevant ICF categories and codes to describe audiological rehabilitation after cochlear implantation. For each ICF category, the most commonly used audiological assessment tools and methods were identified.

Results:
The most relevant codes for Body functions and structures, Activities and Participation as well as Environmental factors were identified. These were the following. Body structures: structure of the inner ear (s260), auditory nerve (s260), brainstem (s1105), midbrain (s1101), diencephalon (s1102), and cortical lobe (s110). Hearing functions: sound detection (b2300), sound discrimination (b2301), localization of sound source (b2302), lateralization of sound (b2303), and speech discrimination (b2304). Activities and participation: listening (d115); communicating with (receiving) spoken messages (d310); handling stress and other psychological demands (d240); using communication devices and techniques (d360); conversation (d350); family relationships (d760); school education (d820); paid employment (d850); and community life (d910). Environmental factors: sounds (e250), products and technology for communication (e125), immediate family (e310), attitudes of immediate family members (e410), societal attitudes (e460), health professionals (e355), and health services, systems, and policies (e580).

Conclusions:
Using the ICF can help target the holistic (re)habilitation of cochlear implant recipients. By providing a common language, it can enable clearer communication across disciplines, and closer comparison between different studies, which is essential for meta-analyses.