Remember I’m Australian and our health systems are very different.
I personally looked into both Cochlear and AB. I liked the AB, I did prefer the AB. But I had to fly to Sydney for the surgery, mappings and all the Drs appointments. So that added $$$ for hotel and return flights & accommodations each visit. As I’m retired the extra cost was not in our budget. Mappings are frequent in the first 12 months.
The 2nd thing I didn’t like about AB was all the recalls they have had on the internal parts. They have had several over the last 10 years.
Cochlear Nucleus system hasn’t had a recall since 2011 I think. When I got to see my ENT CI surgeon he wanted to use Cochlear, so that was that. I was OK with that I liked the thought of direct streaming for phone calls. And I will say it’s brilliant. Being able to control my CI from my iPhone was another benefit to me. It meant I didn’t have to carry around a remote control as well. In fact the remote is still in the box. The N8 processor is being released in November, it’s meant to have improved BT functionality. As well as improved sound. Time will tell. And all the mappings were bulk billed to my health insurance, therefore I had no out of pocket expenses for mappings. Cochlear overnight supplies to us when we need replacement pieces.
Some of the US surgeons have a Cochlear 2 device policy, check with your surgeon what he offers. If he does offer the 2 devices you would be able to get the K2 and the N8. @Raudrive has both. I’m not sure which device he prefers to use or if the magnet strength is still a problem for him. I have the N7 coupled with the Resound Enzo, I enjoy being bimodal, my hearing is great this way. Ask your surgeon about the complications that can occur post operatively. While I personally didn’t experience any of them, you still need to be aware they can and do happen sometimes.