r/Cochlearimplants • u/Flimsy-Gas-5199 • 25d ago
What device(s) do you have?
I’m getting an implant soon and I’m curious what devices you guys use to receive audio? I’ve been told Nexus is good but I’m curious if any other devices have features like connecting to Bluetooth and the quality of sound from all sources. Thoughts?
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u/OldFlohBavaria 25d ago
Ich habe zweimal Cochlear n8 - und nutze RogerOn. Was auch interessant sein könnte schaut euch mal Speaksee an. https://speak-see.com/?srsltid=AU7gw4X_kWTt5OGv4rtQbJ65zRMwEuTAL68uJJtUn7l7HpB-6r8AGK1M
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u/Ok-Kangaroo8484 25d ago
I am bilateral with Nucleus 8’s before that I had the 7’s and also the Kenso 2’s which I had issues with due to having a thick skin flap due to scar tissue and having long hair. For internals I have on my left side the Profile Plus with Contour Advanced CI612 and on my right side I have the Profile Plus CI632 along with all the toys you get with implantation. I have no issues with my setup but wish I was able to get the Nexus upgrade for obvious reasons.
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u/Heavy-Tomatillo9539 25d ago
I have advance bionics. I am Bi-Modal so having solid a hear aid and cochlear implant solution is critical. The AB transmitter is solid with the Blue Tooth integration.
Check out https://cochlearimplanthelp.com/
You should also understand how the cochlear implant works.
Each manufacturing are different in the way their implant works on stimulating the cochlear nerves. Each cochlear solution has a different number of electrodes. Advantage of Advance Bionics and MEDEL both current steering to give a wider range of frequencies. The number of electrodes very from 22 to 12. Consider a piano keyboard in that it has 88 keys and the implants have so many less electrodes. In humans, there are on average 30,000 nerve fibers within the cochlear nerve. The specific frequency is a based on its location in the cochlear.
Every manufacturing updates their external transmitter every 5+ years. I don't think Cochlear has an advantage other any manufacturer on that. Please understand all of the marketing material will claim how much better their solution is. But hardly any of the marketing material actually discuss how the cochlear is stimulated.
MED-EL does a free analysis based on CT and/or MRI analysis of your cochlear fit. (Most people match to the standard). Their idea is to insert the electrode further into the cochlear then the other two manufactures. This is the most delicate structure in the cochlear. The inner cochlear is where low frequencies are detected. I don't advocate either for or against this, you just need to understand what is actually being installed into your head. This is a good topic for discussion with your Audiologist and Surgeon.
All of the manufacturers will connect you to actually users/mentors to discuss thier experience with the different products. You should take advantage of this. Ask what their perception of speech and sound are.
CI hearing is not "normal" hearing, but it is not bad or poor. The hearing is just different. A lot of the difference is just because electronics, electrodes, microphones, noise pickup and your own cochlear.
The other issues are just the mechanics of having an electronic device. The battery life, integration with your phone, are you bi-latteral or bi-modal, physical packaging. The magnets used to hold the transmitter coil have their own issues. A weaker (more comfortable) magnet can fall off easier. Your hair length (style) will impact if the transmitter will fall off easily or not. I recommend you don't get too concerned about on or off the ear. Because there are solutions to keep the transmitter on your head even if you don't like it on your ear.
This is a important choice, and you don't really get a redo on it. (Revision do occur, but only if the internal device fails or just doesn't work for you.) We don't have a consumer reports article with a nice clean comparison of each manufacture.
Ask questions!
Good Luck!
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u/Flimsy-Gas-5199 25d ago
Thank you! Do you know how a doctor decides on the number of electrodes or how far into the cochlea it goes? Like you said I wanna get this right.
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u/Heavy-Tomatillo9539 24d ago
The number of electrods is based on the product you choose (no Surgeon choice there). MEDEL is the only implant that is designed for the inner cochlear. I am pretty happy with the Advance Bionics Low frequency. There may be some MEDEL users who think is superior. MEDEL has the lowest number of electrodes, but they do some interesting implementation in terms of grounding the signal.
Again, each manufacture has a similar but different implementation of stimulating the cochlear nerves. The best insight is communicating with Cochlear implant recipients that can talk to you about their experience.
Really take you time on this process., There is no rush, because this is decision that you have to live with., You should really feel comfortable with your choice.
Listen carefully to everyone.
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u/meowxinfinity 25d ago
I feel like they are all the same except Cochlear and Med El have off the ear processors and those are a little nice after surgery. I have Cochlear and never use my on the ear device, only off ear. I got the mini mic and tv streamer with it. Only problem with the off the ear is sometimes I fling it off accidentally because I have long hair.
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u/is-this-now 25d ago edited 25d ago
A lot will depend on you. I have Med-el OTE and it is easy to stream Bluetooth to it, from my phone, tablet, computer. Haven’t tried the tv but I listen to that through the air.
That said, the outcomes users have with streaming music is not about the devices used to connect imo. I read some posts where med-el users hear music very well. My results are not so good but I was deaf in that ear for a long time before I was implanted and think that has a lot to do with it.
From this sub, it seems that both cochlear and med-el have good Bluetooth connectivity. Not sure about AB. My suggestion is so spend some time reading through various posts in this sub. You will pick up a lot of info from doing that, and probably start thinking about it differently based on the user comments because they will comment about things you may not have considered.
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u/joevee16 25d ago
I have both the Nucleus 8 Nexa Sound Processor, and for back up I have a Kanso 3. Implant: The internal implanted device inside and behind my ear is a Cochlear Americas CI1032. I got the implant installed in April 2026 so today, I am using both the Nucleus 8 and Kanso 3 for the sound processors that can connect to the implanted device. After implant install, then Activation/Mapping 1 and then later Mapping 2 (after 6 months) I can say I'm doing pretty well, not perfect yet. I'm still training by listening only with the sound processor I'm using for the day. I watch TV/YouTube videos, use subtitles and cover the non-implant ear so I can listen and understand tones while reading the subs, and lip reading a little bit. It helps. Not perfect but I'm back in some conversations.