Hello and welcome to the forum.
I also had a SSHL in my R ear several years ago now. 3.5 yrs ago I was in the same position trying to decide what company to go through, either AB or Cochlear Australia. I’m from Melbourne to get the AB I would have had to go to Sydney for surgery and mappings… This added cost was to high for mappings, accommodation and airfares. The thing I didn’t really like about AB was all the recalls they have had on the internal array.
While with Cochlear I had no out of pocket expenses at all, nor for mappings, it’s all been bulk billed… Which made things easy for me Even though it’s about a 4+ hour return trip on public transport… I love the streaming of my N7 & Resound Enzo. This makes phone calls so easy. Please keep wearing your aid until surgery happens. As this will keep your acoustic nerve stimulated. Even though you say you can’t hear it’s still possible for some sound to be getting through.
Here’s my journey with my Cochlear. It’s been a fantastic ride and it the best decision I’ve ever made.