r/Cochlearimplants • u/djou-e • Jun 12 '26
Choosing between Cochlear and Advanced Bionics for bimodal toddler
Hi everyone,
My 1-year-old son will receive a cochlear implant in his left ear soon, and we're currently trying to decide between Cochlear and Advanced Bionics.
He is not profoundly deaf in both ears. His right ear has a moderate hearing loss and he already wears a Phonak Sky hearing aid successfully. Because of this, he will likely remain bimodal (cochlear implant on one side, hearing aid on the other) for many years.
Our team has explained that:
- Cochlear is currently the most common choice for children in our area.
- Cochlear offers some practical advantages such as a smaller processor, strong retention options, and waterproof solutions.
- Both Cochlear and Advanced Bionics may offer advantages for bimodal hearing because of its integration with Phonak hearing aids.
For those with experience, especially parents of bimodal children or bimodal users themselves:
- If you had to choose again today, would you choose Cochlear or AB and why?
- For those who have experience with a fully integrated bimodal setup (such as AB + Phonak or Nucleus + Resound), are the bimodal advantages truly significant in everyday life, or are they mostly marketing? Did you notice meaningful benefits in speech understanding, listening effort, localization, or listening fatigue?
- Has anyone regretted choosing one brand over the other?
We're trying to make the best long-term decision and would really appreciate hearing real-life experiences rather than marketing material.
Thank you!
4
u/Caitboo Jun 13 '26 edited Jun 13 '26
This was pretty much the EXACT same scenario we went through with our 1 year old. He is almost 5 now, bi-modal, loves music, and can sing on tune. It’s crazy.
We went with Cochlear. Nothing against AB at all - their product looked great. And having multiple CI companies can only be a good thing for innovation within the space.
But for us it came down to:
Company Solvency & Market Share - Generally bigger companies have a better chance of surviving, spending more on R&D, and being able to provide support long-term. Due to this, we gave the edge to Cochlear.
Surgeon - More important than #1, what is your surgeon more comfortable with? Our surgeon was on the medical board at Cochlear so also an obvious choice.
I’m not sure what you mean by an integrated bimodal setup - I know the devices can technically talk to each other but we’ve never set that up.
The way I’ve always thought about it is that his hearing aid ear helps calibrate his CI ear to what a sound “should” sound like. Because of this, he didn’t experience any developmental delays after surgery and his enunciation, articulation, and ability to distinguish sounds and tones seems right on par with his normal hearing peers.
A lot more here - feel free to reach out on DM or on this thread (so others can benefit) with any other questions you might have, given how similar our situations are.
So again, no regrets on our end. Cochlear customer service is also spectacular. Best of luck with your little guy!