Rehab is also very important but it also depends on how well your brain hears as well.
My friends (twins) have AB Naida Marvel plus a Naida Link Aid and they have to lipread and use sign as their brains don’t hear very well.
They were both re-implanted and it’s made no difference what so ever. Their inside implant was the first generation AB and now they have a much better internal implant but they still don’t hear very well.
I wore Phonak aids exclusively before going CI. My decision to go with Cochlear was very simple, my surgeon said they have the best support hands down where I live.
Which brand has the best support where you live?
Is your current Phonak compatible with the AB processor? It takes a special Phonak aid to be compatible. This might be an expense you had not expected.
All three CI brands work equally well. The CI evaluation should clear the air for your ability to use one properly with good rehabilitation. There will always be random cases the candidate does not do as well as expected but typically most candidates do much better than expected as far as word understanding goes. CI has changed my life for the better in so many ways.
Good luck with your decision.
I would go with cochlear they are the absolute leader in this cathegory
purely speculative, world wide Cochlear has what is it 60% market share. Even big companies like demand couldn’t sucessfully compete with them. It makes sense as part as the divesting strategy
they could make Oticon hearing aids compatible with their CI (time will tell)
That would be very nice. Cochlear did buy out the Oticon CI business. I don’t know how that could tie to Oticon hearing aids but it sure might. Bimodal Cochlear users would have two compatible hearing aid choices. A great idea.
Oticon do have a strong desire to increase share of market in the pediatric segment.
having an arrangement with cochlear do make sense as part of an agreement for sale.
that could explain why, they have delay so much @ power instruments.
Time will tell
I am planning to get CI.
Currently inclined to Advanced Bionics due to Phonak’s reputation.
However, Kenso 2 and Rando 3, like sound processors, are really appealing due to the comfort of wear.
What should I do? I see AB’s maximum simulation rate is 83000 PPS while Cochlear has 32000 PPS and MED-EL has 51000 PPS.
PPS rate is the number of updates per second the implant is capable of.
Channel-wise, it is 16, 22, and 12, respectively. On that - Electrodes and Channels | cochlear implant HELP
Don’t just rely on Phonaks reputation. AB has had several recalls of internal parts. Where the recipient had to go through another procedure to be reimplanted.
Cochlear has the greater market share and are more reliable devices.
Do your research on each company.
Speak to the company representatives.
Talk to your audiologist, what one does she/he recommend.
Find a Cochlear audiologist near you talk to them, and arrange an evaluation for yourself.
Think about your work life, which type of device would be more suitable on or off the ear.
Think about how far you have to travel for mappings? Which company is the closest audiologist to where you live or work. A Ci audiologist is different to a HA audiologist.
Good luck.
@Dipak_P, what @Deaf_piper has written is absolutely true. Despite my tendency to AB now, in 2013, when I had CI surgery, my place had no support from that company, so I got a Cochlear company implant.I don’t regret it, except maybe that I couldn’t get it earlier.
The 3 brands all can produce great results if you work at the rehab. There might be some differences I’m don’t know about when it comes to Meniers. Only your surgeon and audi can address how that part will effect the choice.
Reading https://cochlearimplanthelp.com/ helped me a lot when I was deciding. It is an impartial source of info. I also contacted the reps from Cochlear America and AB. You can also join each brand’s facebook group and ask questions.
I choose Advanced Bionics partly for the seamless integration with the Link HA, bluetooth without a device and the MRI compatible internal magnet. There is a replaceable battery compartment for emergencies. I also liked that if my second ear gets worse, I can try using a link HA before I jump to a second CI.
I just passed my 1 year anniversary of being activated and have no complaints. My word discrimination at one month with both CI and HA went from 36% to 100%. With just the CI, it went from 16% to 80%.
I am bimodal with the CI in my right ear and the Link HA in my left. I’m not bilateral which means a CI in both ears. So I’m not sure what you’re asking.
The CI and HA work together perfectly. Speech and sounds seem as if they are coming from a single source in my brain. Neither is as good alone as they are together.
I know about the differences between bilateral and bimodal (see and click my nickname). I simply used brachylogy due to the subheading in that article:
Source:
However, thank for describing your experiences with Naida Link with CI.
cant go wrong with Sonova. They are #1 hearing company in the world.
I would also consider Cochlear as that is the number 1 cochlear implant in the world
However, AB is going to challenge Cochlear in the near future
the integration with remote mics, which I assume they do should also
be consideration. Here Sonova has the upper hand
My friend has just qualified for a CI here in the UK.
She has chosen Cochlear and has decided to stick with her Phonak Naida M70 SP in her other ear.
She doesn’t use Bluetooth. I’ve been trying to get her to start using Bluetooth but been unsuccessful so far.
Tony - you ask really good questions yet have mostly gotten general replies.
I’ll go in a different direction and suggest you find out -
Which CI brands have had the most recalls or operating complaints.
Do CI brands offer success/failure ratio?
What is the cost for each CI brand and size comparison, etc.
I would not buy the standard line “they all work the same”. Just like all HA’s don’t work the same.
@Tony3 , @SayAgain3 is correct. Ensure with which company you would have the least bothersome support.
Perhaps:
A support center (e.g., for service visits) from one company is near you, while the other company is farther away?
What about replacement parts and their costs?
Does the audiologist who would adjust your sound processor have experience with that company’s product?
@Tony3 I know, based on real comparison, the Speechprocessor from AdvancedBionics “CI-M90 Sky” for Babies an young children sounds more harder than the normal Model for adults “CI-M90” with the same mapping. I suspect, that there are also different “sounds” between the products of the 3 brands. You should ask “your” technician for CI, what his/her opinion is, which product has the softliest sound because of your distortion. That was only one aspect for chosen a brand. Another aspects are the connectivity to other equipment like telephon, TV, hearingaids, … and also the medical aspects.
