Could use some help with choosing companies

bbaseballboy123

bbaseballboy123

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I went to the doctors after a few weeks of on and off random issues with my AB harmony for my right side. Today I was tested and it has come to conclusion, my right is finally broken after 14 years of usage.
As some of you guys know, AB is off the market due to a series of defects and recalls they had a few months ago, I have 2 options...
#1. Wait a few weeks to a few months for the FDA to approve AB to continue implants
Pros: I have a lot of stuff for AB processors because I been with them for years!
Their services are amazing, swift and easy
They patent the t-bic which is amazing because I can wear phones
Cons: Their internal implant broke 2 times already in my life time!

#2. Go get implanted next week with the company, cochlear and their new processor the neclous 5.
Pros: its smaller
Has a remote feature which is pretty darn neat i must say
Services look very promising
Cons: no t-bic
UGLY headpiece!

I am simply just asking, what do you like and dislike about your implants from either company?


I should mention, I had my left implanted 2 years ago with harmony and 90k series internal AB.
 
I'm curious from your intro... was it the harmony (external) that broke, or the HiRes90k (internal)? You say harmony in your intro. When they came to the conclusion that it was broken, what did they say was wrong with it? When you say the internal has broken twice, do you mean that you've been re-implanted?

We just implanted our daughter with bilateral AB and could not be more pleased with the results to date. We chose AB for pretty much two reasons. Superior tech specs, and superior customer service.
 
I will be going with Cochlear when I'm approved...and really you think the external is ugly? I think that about the AB, I have very small ears and am very athletic and nucleus 5 wold fit my lifestyle better than the AB. I know someone on cochlear's website who actually doesn't live far from me that has AB on one side and the Nucleus 5 on the other and she prefers her Nucleus 5 side more than harmony side.
 
AliciaM said:
I will be going with Cochlear when I'm approved...and really you think the external is ugly? I think that about the AB, I have very small ears and am very athletic and nucleus 5 wold fit my lifestyle better than the AB. I know someone on cochlear's website who actually doesn't live far from me that has AB on one side and the Nucleus 5 on the other and she prefers her Nucleus 5 side more than harmony side.
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Only the head peice. The rest I dont mind, well besides the t-bic on the harmony which is a very large feature for AB.

However, I am going with nucleus 5. Talked with my family (who really are upset with AB, more than me lol), and I'm gonna tell me doctor on Friday.

Overall I'll be implanted in 2 weeks or so. I am excited to be honest. Scared too to the fact that it will sound a bit different.
 
The Nucleus-5 is much, much better looking and half the size of the Cochlear Freedom and the old 3G.

I've only had Cochlear products, so I can't tell you which is better, but my surgeon has implanted both, and prefers Cochlear for reliability reasons.
 
I went with the one my surgeon and speech & hearing center work with and recommended.
 
green427 said:
The Nucleus-5 is much, much better looking and half the size of the Cochlear Freedom and the old 3G.

I've only had Cochlear products, so I can't tell you which is better, but my surgeon has implanted both, and prefers Cochlear for reliability reasons.
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Same with my audiologist who recommends the cochlear.
I will probably be the one of the few people to tell which i like better ;)
Hohtopics said:
I went with the one my surgeon and speech & hearing center work with and recommended.
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Hohtopics, which company did the surgeon recommended?
 
bbaseballboy123 said:
#2. Go get implanted next week with the company, cochlear and their new processor the neclous 5.
Pros: its smaller
Has a remote feature which is pretty darn neat i must say
Services look very promising
Cons: no t-bic
UGLY headpiece!



I should mention, I had my left implanted 2 years ago with harmony and 90k series internal AB.
Click to expand...

UGLY headpiece!!!!!!!, excuse me!!!!!!, are you talking about AB HUUUUUUUUGE processor and the head piece that keeps falling off (so many complaints about this), you can't be talking about Cochlear America that have the smallest, lightest, nicest look of all, not to forget their amazing technology with no history of re-calls and malfunction, plus no pushy mentors and paid users to push you get AB.
Please get real= get Cochlear America
 
bbaseballboy123 said:
O the t-mic on the harmony which is a very large feature for AB..
Click to expand...

WRONG, Cochlear does have 2 microphones, go check the facts on their web site, AB has been flashing the stupid t-mic in our faces forever and telling us it's better, it's NOT, it does not do anything much that what Cochlear has for years already, they stole the technology from Cochlear and name it differently. DO NOT LISTEN to the fold on AB forum, these people are blah blah blah, they brain wash everyone comes to their forum, thanks God the truth unveiled, yes they kicked me out because I did not accept to be brain washed, a week later their implant went down the drain with FDA, not only this, wait and see what will happens soon when the truth about their misleading advertising and their blah blah forum get to the FDA
 
Fl885 said:
UGLY headpiece!!!!!!!, excuse me!!!!!!, are you talking about AB HUUUUUUUUGE processor and the head piece that keeps falling off (so many complaints about this), you can't be talking about Cochlear America that have the smallest, lightest, nicest look of all, not to forget their amazing technology with no history of re-calls and malfunction, plus no pushy mentors and paid users to push you get AB.
Please get real= get Cochlear America
Click to expand...

well there hasn't been a big amt of recalls but every company has problems. I want cochlear as well but to say their implant is perfect is not correct either. But i do agree that AB's processor is a lot bigger than the Nucleus 5.
Also I much rather prefer the cochlear community to AB's forum..i found the members there very pushy and rude and bash other members who have cochlear..very negative people in that forum which is why I decided to leave AB's forum...
 
Fl885 said:
UGLY headpiece!!!!!!!, excuse me!!!!!!, are you talking about AB HUUUUUUUUGE processor and the head piece that keeps falling off (so many complaints about this), you can't be talking about Cochlear America that have the smallest, lightest, nicest look of all, not to forget their amazing technology with no history of re-calls and malfunction, plus no pushy mentors and paid users to push you get AB.
Please get real= get Cochlear America
Click to expand...

I'm sorry if i offended you with bias towards cochlear.
I just dont like the headpeice on the cochlear because its not smooth as the harmony and sleek. Also, the head piece falling off... just get a strong magnet... thats what I did.
I wasnt talking about the actually processor however, cochlear wins in sexiness.
Cochlear indeed had less recalls than AB, much less but cochlear had recalls too.

Fl885 said:
WRONG, Cochlear does have 2 microphones, go check the facts on their web site, AB has been flashing the stupid t-mic in our faces forever and telling us it's better, it's NOT, it does not do anything much that what Cochlear has for years already, they stole the technology from Cochlear and name it differently. DO NOT LISTEN to the fold on AB forum, these people are blah blah blah, they brain wash everyone comes to their forum, thanks God the truth unveiled, yes they kicked me out because I did not accept to be brain washed, a week later their implant went down the drain with FDA, not only this, wait and see what will happens soon when the truth about their misleading advertising and their blah blah forum get to the FDA
Click to expand...
ORLLY?!
I knew the cochlear has two mics, obviously you didnt read any posts up there^. The harmony has one mic which is right at the ear canal, more natural sounds going into the canal than on top of the ear.
Sounds for a human with normal hearing work like this: sound comes from source (speaking, music, speakers) goes naturally to the ear canal. Thats why t-mic is a pretty strong feature because its closer to the natural sound.
I believe AB invented the t-mic (and patented it) so sure they stole the technology.
I know the t-mic is a very effective feature because the BTE model had the mic just where the N5 has the mics and then I got the t-mic and it sounded so much better. But then its personal opinion which sounds better.

edit: i havent even been on the AB or any other forums lol

edit: I dont think you really read any other posts, I have harmony 90k series in my left and had harmony for my right. I had implants since i was 2 (14 years) so I'm pretty sure i know what I'm talking about.

edit: I think you may want to see my recent posts:
mikatehgr8t said:
Thanks guys! I have another question -- will I still be able to listen to my music? Usually I listen to them with earbuds but with cochlear implants, I heard they take away your hearing when you get a cochlear implant....so I won't be able to listen to them with headphones/earbuds?

Also, what do most cochlear implants look like? like a hearing aid but with more?
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Depends what company you go with. Advanced Bonics has a t-bic (its what I use on my left) and I wear street style headphones and cans no problems.
On my left I will be getting cochlear nucleus 5 which... I don't really know how I can wear street style headphones since the mics are on the top of the processor. But maybe cans but I wouldnt wear them in public

This is called the harmony by AB. But its not on the market due to the recent recall. No one really know when the FDA will approve the implants, so they arent on the market.
device-closeup.png


Since I have bad luck with AB implants (broke at age 3 and a few weeks away), I am going to replace the broken one with the nucleus 5.

Nucleus5.jpg


If you notice, the AB harmony has a mic near the canal, the nucleus 5 does not, its on the processor.
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last edit:
Implanted at age 2 with AB right side, broke a year later, but reimplanted at age 3.
Implanted at age 15 with AB left side.
My right broke a few weeks ago at age 16 (14 years). Will be implanted again in a few weeks with cochlear.
Just so you know I am a bit bias to AB but I am open to cochlear and not degrading them. Nor I am defending AB, they had terrible recalls, many recalls. Some products break easily, like the wires, and t-mics.

Its the matter of how you use the processors. For me, this is the issue:

bbaseballboy123 said:
Oh I know that. I am just wondering about the processor itself. There is something that is somewhat hindering me from wanting the N5.

Edit: I actually can't PM you since I am new to this forum, I am very active over at overclock.net and they have the same forum set up.
I was hoping you can help me with the mics on the N5.
Since I had BTE and harmony with my right (strongest hearing), I had a "t-bic" which is a mic that is near the ear canal. Obviously, AB patented this so Cochlear can't create a mic similar to the "t-bic"
This is the harmony with the t-bic (labeled)
Harmony-callouts-LRG.jpg

Now the N5 has 2 mics ON the processor on top. This made me somewhat in disgust with the design of where they placed the mics because I really do depend on the t-bic since I wear headphones a lot at home and always have my cell hold like natural.
The headphones I have arent just headphones, theyre around the ear headphones: (picture of what I actually use at home)
1001072hj2.jpg


My question is, would the headphones make it much harder to hear since the cushion would be pressed on the N5?
Click to expand...
 
bbaseballboy123, ok sorry for being little off on you, I don't have CI yet, I have been researching it since last April (4.2010), I was on AB forum and was almost sold on their implant and they thought they could brain wash me up until I started doing more research and found out that regular people who just got implants were not doing so great only the mentors, paid users were the ones who keep talking great things about their implants, when I actually digged deep I found out these users were not doing that great and all of these claims were being said on forum only to attract more new users, in other words, they were lying about what they are actually getting from their AB implants, while honest users who would talk about their experience would soon be kicked out for a reason or another that if their results are not according to AB standards of how the forum should work ------> a free way of an amazing way of BS marketing.
I got so upset from that and soon they kicked me out because I was in no use for them, actually some users were going with me, chatting with me off board and were on my side!, I hated to see anyone from any brand to promote their brand and trash the other brand.
I do feel Cochlear is more reliable and much more technologically savvy.
I'm sorry for the head piece as I don't have an implant yet and I don't know how they feel, but does those holes in the design bother you or what is actually bothering you, I need to know because I'm planning my soon CI which of course going to be Cochlear America, not because AB is not available but because 2 of best CI centers in America recommend Cochlear and did not recommend AB.
In regard of t-mic, I do feel for you and see why you wanted it, but I do know that Cochlear works with neck loops, bluetooth, have you research this? for example, I have Oticon HA now (both ears) and they have bluetooth and have a bluetooth loopiest or they call it streamer, I use this for my phone and Ipod, it works great, I have asked my audi about Cochlear and if it will have similar feature and she said yes, I may have to buy something to let it do what my HA do at this point, another thing is is it possible that you could try a regular bluetooth loopiest with the implant to hear on phone and listen to music (MP3 ...)?, is your MP3, Itune, Iphone or whatever bluetooth compatible?, may be this is better than using the huge headset you have, but I can imagine that these headset are of much better sound quality, right?

There was an article about the t-mic and what cochlear had to say about it and what are the facts and why they don't have do it same, I need to find that article to show you that cochlear did invent something here, it's not all AB owned, or that what cochlear says in that article, I need to find time to look for it, LOL.
Good luck in your new implant, wish you the best.
 
Fl885 said:
bbaseballboy123, ok sorry for being little off on you, I don't have CI yet, I have been researching it since last April (4.2010), I was on AB forum and was almost sold on their implant and they thought they could brain wash me up until I started doing more research and found out that regular people who just got implants were not doing so great only the mentors, paid users were the ones who keep talking great things about their implants, when I actually digged deep I found out these users were not doing that great and all of these claims were being said on forum only to attract more new users, in other words, they were lying about what they are actually getting from their AB implants, while honest users who would talk about their experience would soon be kicked out for a reason or another that if their results are not according to AB standards of how the forum should work ------> a free way of an amazing way of BS marketing.
I got so upset from that and soon they kicked me out because I was in no use for them, actually some users were going with me, chatting with me off board and were on my side!, I hated to see anyone from any brand to promote their brand and trash the other brand.
I do feel Cochlear is more reliable and much more technologically savvy.
I'm sorry for the head piece as I don't have an implant yet and I don't know how they feel, but does those holes in the design bother you or what is actually bothering you, I need to know because I'm planning my soon CI which of course going to be Cochlear America, not because AB is not available but because 2 of best CI centers in America recommend Cochlear and did not recommend AB.
In regard of t-mic, I do feel for you and see why you wanted it, but I do know that Cochlear works with neck loops, bluetooth, have you research this? for example, I have Oticon HA now (both ears) and they have bluetooth and have a bluetooth loopiest or they call it streamer, I use this for my phone and Ipod, it works great, I have asked my audi about Cochlear and if it will have similar feature and she said yes, I may have to buy something to let it do what my HA do at this point, another thing is is it possible that you could try a regular bluetooth loopiest with the implant to hear on phone and listen to music (MP3 ...)?, is your MP3, Itune, Iphone or whatever bluetooth compatible?, may be this is better than using the huge headset you have, but I can imagine that these headset are of much better sound quality, right?

There was an article about the t-mic and what cochlear had to say about it and what are the facts and why they don't have do it same, I need to find that article to show you that cochlear did invent something here, it's not all AB owned, or that what cochlear says in that article, I need to find time to look for it, LOL.
Good luck in your new implant, wish you the best.
Click to expand...

Its fine. I thought you were pretty mad with my somewhat stupid reasons. I am sorry about the AB forums, i like this site a lot because everyone has their own hearing aids and implants and theres no marketing crap going through here.
I also feel cochlear will be a better implant for me overall, just more reliable, and their services, Im sure are awesome.
The headpiece.. to be honest, head pieces are just head pieces that connect to the implant. Thats all it does, just transmits singles. Thats why I think AB done the design of the headpiece much better because its sleek, its sexy, and its not large as the cochlear. But I notice that cochlear has a wheel volume on the headpiece rather than on the processor.... While we're talking about the headpiece, do they come in different colors?
(there is nothing wrong with the headpieces from cochlear, just dont find it as attractive)
I have the Zune HD which does not have bluetooth, my crappy phone (which could never be a music player).

In the past, for the BTE from AB, I used a wire that was a total pain the ass to use because you had to take off the t-mic and plug it in then plug that other end of the wire into a player or computer. The sound we pretty good, it was direct so there was no bass or back ground sound so if someone wanted to talk to me, i would have to remove the wire then talk... not worth it...
So i ditched that and got headphones. Headphones as shown in the picture are so amazing, you hear much more, more bass and easy to take off to talk to someone.
I watch a lot of videos at school (wasting time mind you :p) and I would just like to plug in my street style headphones and listen to the music/sounds without much hassle.

I hope you do find the article
 
I agree with you, these Headphones are amazing, but they suck with my HA as if I put them on top of my hearing aids they will weez and whistle :(, I know there is no whistling with the CI and that is great.
I'm a girl so I think I can cover that stupid head piece with my hair and not be to concerned about the ugly thing, LOL
There is a bluetooth loopiest from Nokia you can use it with your t-coil (I think Cochlear has t-coil? and get the sound directly inside your implant, I can send you a link of that Nokia loopset (bluetooth), it's not cheap :( but it's amazing as far as I know, you do not have to put anything on your head, you wear it around your neck and go workout, walk, do whatever, what I need to find out is if your phone or zune does need to be bluetooth or if you can connect it directly to that loopset?, I have not used it as I got it at the same time when I got the latest Oticon HA that has a bluetooth in it and a streamer that acts as loopiest, pretty cool. I do need to do more research on the Cochlear connections to phone or mp3 as this is very important to me, I hate to do direct cable connect from the implant to the phone as frankly I do not want to show off my implant to every single stranger out there, I need to be free, that's why I like the bluetooth thing.
 
Fl885 said:
I agree with you, these Headphones are amazing, but they suck with my HA as if I put them on top of my hearing aids they will weez and whistle :(, I know there is no whistling with the CI and that is great.
I'm a girl so I think I can cover that stupid head piece with my hair and not be to concerned about the ugly thing, LOL
There is a bluetooth loopiest from Nokia you can use it with your t-coil (I think Cochlear has t-coil? and get the sound directly inside your implant, I can send you a link of that Nokia loopset (bluetooth), it's not cheap :( but it's amazing as far as I know, you do not have to put anything on your head, you wear it around your neck and go workout, walk, do whatever, what I need to find out is if your phone or zune does need to be bluetooth or if you can connect it directly to that loopset?, I have not used it as I got it at the same time when I got the latest Oticon HA that has a bluetooth in it and a streamer that acts as loopiest, pretty cool. I do need to do more research on the Cochlear connections to phone or mp3 as this is very important to me, I hate to do direct cable connect from the implant to the phone as frankly I do not want to show off my implant to every single stranger out there, I need to be free, that's why I like the bluetooth thing.
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I have short curly hair so it shows a bit which is why I am trying to keep it as sleek as possible. I dont really like showing it off and I like catching people off guard when they realize that I am deaf lol. I go to mainstream school education and my peers find it fascinating how well i was able to hear and talk when they found out I was deaf.
I'm gonna just go and hope my street style headphones will work in public, if not, my lost, I will find some t-coils.... This post may help you a lot

GrendelQ said:
A lot of CI users just use the earbuds that come with many devices, and tuck them behind the ear, using the t-coil setting to pick up the sound, which I've heard is excellent. The N5s have an auto t-coil detect feature (we don't use it ourselves: with a 4yo, it's too easy for her processors to switch over without us realizing it, leaving her on t-coil when she shouldn't be)

My daughter has recently been using TecEar's induction microphones when listening to music on iphone and ipad (she's bilateral, so we use the dual set for stereo sound). These have been great, because she doesn't typically wear her processors on her ears: they don't have a cushion, just a hook and can be placed next to her processors atop her ponytail holders near the top of the head.

She's used noise canceling headphones with the around-the-ear style (vs the compact cushion on-the-ear styles) when we're in crazy noisy places, like on an airplane or a train -- either attached to a DVD player or just to block external sounds when we're using the lapel mic (which we've done very infrequently, and only on a couple of long car rides). When she uses the cushion headphones, she wears her processors tucked into the headphones, placing the headphones on her ears or hanging just behind them, with processors inside. I haven't noticed that she was experiencing any dampening of the sound because of where the 2 mics are located on the processor.

You may want to check with the folks over on cochlearimplantonline.com where there are quite a few HS and early college CI users sharing tips and tricks.
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Money is no object to me or my parents when it comes to audio stuff so I'm thinking about getting new cans that are bigger than my current cans in the picture above.
 
I use full sized cans (headphones) with my hearing aid, my old freedom and the N5. Some of the full size Sennheiser's works well and since the Mic's are on the top I just move the headphones up a bit. I also have a pair of Denon's and the Stax SR5 headphones. If I was listening to music while traveling I use my Sony Walkman MP3 player with inductions plates and use full 100% T-coil with no Mic to pick up noise. Works good most of the time.
 
Okk now I know about what you're talking about..the actual coil magnet not the bte part...i get what u mean now..yes the coil magnet is a bit bigger and I believe AB's is a bit smaller and is like a cap instead of like a wheel shape the coclears is...but cochlears bte and the processor does come in diff colors Nucleus 5 Flexible Wearing Options | Cochlear
also you can have diff color design covers. you can also have a diff bte color and diff coil color so there is a bit of room for being discrete or trying at least if that's what you want
 
I think its funny to see the above post about how AB mentors are paid for their services. Occasionally there is a big scandal about how recruiting members on the Cochlear community are paid also. I know AB mentors are not paid, and I suspect the same is true for the cochlear community members. Also, I looked at the AB forums, and there are many posts from folks doing well, and a few from folks having problems. Same with Cochlear. One thing I've enjoyed from AB is the live web chats on Thursday where anyone can talk to regular people in various stages of the process, doing well, or having problems.
An issue we did have was with Cochlear's reps. When they finally returned our calls and emails they were often full of vague, misleading information. AB's reps responded right away and provided the actual independent studies or tech specs that supported their clear answers.
 
Wirelessly posted

i agree with iowaboy. The reason i went with AB was that i believe they are technically superior but also, the way the company works. When i spoke to the cochlear reps, it was all about the "perks" and not aout the technology. AB sent me information, including three INDEPENDANT studies showing that AB users do better.

also, the t-mic is for real. It is the location of the t-mic that matters, not the fact that there are two mics. And no, cochlear can not move their mic, it is patented.

also, cochlear has been using the same speech processing technology for many years. They have had processor upgrades, but where is the upgrade in actual hearing??? Who cares what it looks like?! Who cares how small the battery is?! I care how well my daughter hears! Hifidelity 120 is an amazing software. My daughter switched from traditional speech processing (like the other companies use) to the 120 and the difference was amazing!

also, cochlear was fined for kickbacks to doctors, so if you are annoyed by unethical ads...
 
It would be easier to learn ASL. probably cheaper, and you dont get to see all the doctors.

Just saying.
 
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