Congratulations and good luck. Keep us updated as you travel this hearing journey…
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Yes, I know, right?? I’m thrilled to have the chance. It is my left ear, which dropped suddenly and dramatically in the last week. Need to update my audiogram on here as both sides dropped but my left really went down the crapper. Enough to finally be a candidate, though so, great!
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HI - I would be interested in seeing your audiogram. I was evaluated and am borderline for ski slope loss in my left ear that happened two years ago and is getting worse. So excited for you to have improved hearing and ability to communicate on the job and in life.
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My 0.02 on brand choice after a lot of back and forth on the decision is that probably the most important part of the choice is the familiarity of the surgeon and audiologist with it. The one study that I found showed that the performance of the big 3 is all within 10% of each other.
If you have a hearing aid in the other ear you might want to consider compatibility. Beyond that look at the various features and pick the one that is best for you. To help with that you can find the most recent version of the comparison chart here..
And then once you have made your decision relax and don’t second guess yourself.
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I think my audiogram is on my profile, if you click on it. I don’t know the type of hearing loss that you are experiencing, but it is scary to watch it decline quickly! I feel for you! Thanks for your words! I hope it gives me a new lease on life. If I have to work at it for it to be successful, then that’s up my alley. Good luck to you!
Thanks for the comparison chart! I am currently being groomed by AB, but my surgeon is suggesting(?) Med El. He is a ear-only specialist and they told me AB isn’t FDA approved and is actually removing more of their implants (than they are implanting) due to the rate of failure. I always trust a technician more than a salesman but if I feel it’s worth the risk for that connectivity, then I will decide and not look back. I am looking to you all for guidance, so thank you again for the advice!
I’ve been doing a lot of research and have talked with reps from all three and done zooms with Med El and AB. That info on AB doesn’t sound current, but of course I’m no expert! I found this link https://www.bioworld.com/articles/501264-sounds-good-advanced-bionics-receives-fda-approval-of-marvel-cochlear-implant-platform?v=preview
The Med El rep said the same to me about AB not being FDA approved and AB indicated that is old info.
The connectivity with the Phonak Marvel is great-hands free phone use like I have now with my Oticons. It would be hard to lose that and it is a strong pull for me toward AB-it connects the CI seamlessly with the hearing aid. No intermediary y device. As others have reassured, sounds like they are all viable options.
Please keep us posted. I did see your graph. Mine is also on my profile. Both ears had always been the same until the rapid decline of my left ear two years ago.
Not sure I understand this statement.
Oticon does not have hands free phone calls like Phonak. With Phonak you can leave your phone in a totally different room and have a phone call. All other hearing aid manufacturers that I know of you must have the phone near your face to have a phone call.
You have not mentioned Cochlear, have you researched them. Their Nucleus 7 and Kanso2 are iOS and Android compatible.
Raudrive: You are correct about the hands free - With my Oticon HAs I do have to have my phone near - but no other device. And the Phonak Marvel with the AB CI would offer that completely hands free feature - even better than what I have now instead of taking a step back with Med El. They are not set to offer that for at least a few years from what I gather. I will note that AB does not have an off ear receiver and won’t for a few years. I would rather wait for that than the hands free.
I dismissed Cochlear early on because of they way the electrodes have just one current source shared among all electrodes rather than a current source or two for each. Honestly, I don’t understand it all, but early in my reading I decided that was not preferable - could be wrong. The AB and Med El seem to have more middle tone options between electrodes, but again, I could have this all wrong as far as impact. This is covered, confusingly, on Cochlearimplanthelp.com. I would love to understand it all better, but as many say, they all work for users, so maybe I don’t need to.
@dieslgrl this is very true, AB have had many failures with the internal parts needing to be removed and reimplanted. It’s common knowledge, they had a recall as recently as early last year.
This one is the 3D hires implant, the one they are implanting now.
Advanced Bionics recalls certain cochlear implants due to hearing degradation - MassDevice.
Congrats, Sarah! Your wish finally came true. 
So I had my annual check up with the audiologist today. It was basically testing.
Sentences in quite Left 98%, Right 100%, Bilateral 100%
In noise; Left 68%, Right 69%, Bilateral 85%,
So based on that and my own satisfaction, no changes to mapping and I go back in a year unless something comes up.
Given where I was with hearing aids (see post 3) it is night and day.
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Pat they are absolutely fantastic scores you came up with today. Huge congratulations to you.
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Amazing….
Congratulations Pat
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That is fantastic! Good for you!
How long have you been bilateral?
My second implant was activated in November of 2020.
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I am considering a second implant. Was your rehab easier the second time around?
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Yes, although my first rehab wasn’t all that difficult either. But the difference between one ear and two ears is amazing.
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I totally agree with this.
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