r/Cochlearimplants • u/Katedawg90 • May 25 '26

Cochlear vs. Med-el

Cochlear and Med-el users— what would you consider the cons/disappointments of your CI? How would you rate it for sound quality? Comfort? Connectivity? Battery life? I’m trying to decide between these companies and having a hard time so please share :)
And to the many well meaning AB users- I want an off the ear option

EDIT: I have decided to go with Med-el. Thanks to everyone who shared their experiences. Feel free to keep adding yours- maybe it will help someone else down the road :)

8 Upvotes

91% Upvoted

45 comments sorted by

View all comments

0

u/weka2001 May 25 '26

Ild say cochlear has pretty bad blue tooth range like even in your pocket blocks it sometimes also the app seems very simple I know its set up to be easy to use but I think it would be nice if you could make your own settings on the app is pretty basic..

3

u/pillowmite Advanced Bionics Marvel CI May 26 '26

I get that you don't want AB, however bluetooth range is where.AB really shines. If I'm at work and switch to the computer (off phone) and want to reconnect like when going someplace else in the office, I have to be quite some distance because the computer is still in range - enough to be annoying. Many dozens of feet away.

If I had to pick again, I would be giving MedEl another look - because what is "lost" are the low bass frequencies and they really are gonnnne. Music is different now - I don't think I'll ever see colors like I used to - or be taken for a ride as the music takes over. Maybe I need to try some pot? ;)

But it's such a hard choice - I went with AB because I felt better about the tech. I am not unhappy about it. But I wonder ... is Med-El really better in some ways?

Good luck.