Hey deafdyke,
Thanks for clarifying.... oops, guess I didn't read the first post carefully enuff..
But I did just want to say I guess it just varies from person to person, depending on what their CI center does, what brand they get (Nuc. or AB), I have no idea what they do in Canada, but I guess you might be right since they have national health coverage versus our privatized ins. here in the US.. guess that could be a factor too! The BTE's are pricier after all!
Some CI centers prefer the newly activated folks to use a BWP for the first couple days, even if they only ordered a BTE.. some will give out "loaner" BWP's for the first few days... their logic is that the BWP is easier to handle in the beginning since the controls are easily visible and accessible (big buttons and you can read the input on the little screen). At least this is what my experience was... 
