Brands of CI..

I think the Freedom is also MRI safe up to 1.5 tesla.. that's what I've read. It might be a slightly different model because the Nucleus Freedom I was shown (about 6 months ago) - I asked if it had a rechargeable battery and they said no.. that it might be coming but no.

I'm lucky as my batteries are paid for by the NHS (National Health Service for those non-UK ppl :) ) so it shouldnt really affect my decision. But I'm so impatient and forgetful it could make a difference. I'd prefer to use a rechargeable though, rather than create a mini mountain of dead batteries.

Overall I dont think there's a too big a difference.. all three are good and soon adopt whatever ground-breaking features each other achieves. It's like BMW, Boeing & *struggles to think of renowned Aussie engineering company* ;) .. well you know what I mean..

I'll meet with them soon to go over them in more detail and pick one. Cheers for your help.
 
Gwyddbwyll said:
I think the Freedom is also MRI safe up to 1.5 tesla.. that's what I've read.
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Cochlear and AB implants are MRI safe but you still need to have a minor surgery to have the magnet part taken out (the rest can be left in). This is because magnets and MRIs don't get on. The Med El website on the other hand claims you don't need surgical removal of the magnet at all. http://www.medel.com/ENG/INT/20_Products/10_Pulsar_Implant/999_mri_safe.asp

Hope that helps!
 
too bad AB is not the choice in your hospitals since it sports rechargable batteries as standard and does offer AA Batteries power options for either BTE or BWP. (those AA Batteries can be rechargable types )
 
Boult said:
too bad AB is not the choice in your hospitals since it sports rechargable batteries as standard and does offer AA Batteries power options for either BTE or BWP. (those AA Batteries can be rechargable types )
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CI is good for profound deaf people but only problem about can drain battery in few days, just known as short battery life but much longer than Sidekick 2 and DVD player.

Also, hard to figure out to wear cap with CI on.
 
I have no problem wearing cap with ci on *shrug* (any cap or hat!)
 
Boult said:
I have no problem wearing cap with ci on *shrug* (any cap or hat!)
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Yeah, I agree with you there! No big deal whatsoever!

I'm a big cap/hat wearer and once you get used to the fact you have a CI on, it becomes second nature wearing them. This is coming from a guy who has over 60 caps!!!! No problem. I did have to get rid of some of my fitted hats but the flex fit and adjustables are a piece of cake.
 
sr171soars said:
Yeah, I agree with you there! No big deal whatsoever!

I'm a big cap/hat wearer and once you get used to the fact you have a CI on, it becomes second nature wearing them. This is coming from a guy who has over 60 caps!!!! No problem. I did have to get rid of some of my fitted hats but the flex fit and adjustables are a piece of cake.
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gee that lot! LOL.. I only have few here :D
 
volcomskatz said:
Also, hard to figure out to wear cap with CI on.
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I wear a baseball cap all the time and have no problem wearing it with my CI.
 
Boult said:
gee that lot! LOL.. I only have few here :D
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Er...you can tell I love hats. It became more important since I moved south to NC eight years. When you are ah...a little sparse on top, you gotta do what you gotta do to protect it from the sun...:D

I will be honest and tell you that I worried a bit whether my hats would continue to fit when I got my CI.
 
ah Yeah.. well I am not hats lover though.. that's why I still have plenty of hairs on top LOL my dad loves hat since Navy. and yes he has hair but not on top just on side eh..

I don't wear hat/cap often because I do not need to go bald yet. :)
 
i love wearing caps as i used to wear them alots when i was working in restaurant to hold my hairs in back. good to know that still can wear cap with ci .. whew! :)
 
Do you have the magnet over the cap/hat or under it? I remember seeing someone's website (I think she had an AB) where she wore the magnet outside of the cap and I thought it looked quite good.

I'm going to have to think about this one because wearing a hat in Australia during the summer is a must, even if you have loads of hair and prior to CIs I struggled to find a hat that fit me due to the way I wear my hair up.
 
R2D2 said:
Do you have the magnet over the cap/hat or under it? I remember seeing someone's website (I think she had an AB) where she wore the magnet outside of the cap and I thought it looked quite good.

I'm going to have to think about this one because wearing a hat in Australia during the summer is a must, even if you have loads of hair and prior to CIs I struggled to find a hat that fit me due to the way I wear my hair up.
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yeah with LONG hairs near my waist? thats gonna be difficult for me too!!! :( so i know what u mean.. gotta find good one that will be comfy for me.

if u find the link- post on this so i can look at the site, ok? if you can find it... if u cant find it then dont worry... just wondering thats all smile!
 
R2D2 said:
Cochlear and AB implants are MRI safe but you still need to have a minor surgery to have the magnet part taken out (the rest can be left in). This is because magnets and MRIs don't get on. The Med El website on the other hand claims you don't need surgical removal of the magnet at all. http://www.medel.com/ENG/INT/20_Products/10_Pulsar_Implant/999_mri_safe.asp

Hope that helps!
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Thanks - that would explain how they all say they're MRI safe.

Still undecided. I'm leaning towards Cochlear because so many stories I've read are Cochlear users and I'm still yet to read one for Med-El, except for the guy I met as part of my assessment. I do like the splash/proof thing. But when you sit down and look at MedEl it makes a strong technical case. For example, a few days ago I read that the Cochlear Nucleus' electrodes are only .75mm apart. But now I've read that MedEl's are 2.8mm apart which is good because there's less channel interaction and it aims to stimulate deeper inside the cochlea where it tends to be less damaged than the outer part of it.

Hmm will have to arrive at a decision one way or another.

R2D2 - are you keeping a journal or anything of how you're getting on understanding the sound you're getting?

Boult - yeah I love recyclables. It really shouldnt be too hard for the other two to follow suit. I think you can use recyclables in the BWP, AB are the only ones to do it for the BTE. It'd be a big factor for me if I was paying for the batteries, for sure. Might use the BWP for that reason alone. Depends.. I hated body worn hearing aids as a kid.
 
Yes I am keeping a journal as a matter of fact. When you are going from day to day you don't really appreciate how much you can hear compared to say two weeks ago but with a diary you can.

I have to say that having a large peer group with similar users has been helpful to me. It has been good to be able to discuss the effect of program speeds on speech perception for example. Just understanding from others what is going on means that you go to your audie armed with lots of intelligent questions about your own situation. I am about to join a local support group of CI users too and I feel that the shared technology means that I will be able to get more out of it.

Are there any studies that actually show that the distance of the electrodes from each other and the stimulation deeper in the cochlear translate into better hearing? I know that often manufacturers (Cochlear included) sometimes make technical claims about advancements in their models but often the actual impact on the clarity of one's hearing compared to another brand is not so easy to measure.

Maybe you could get onto CI hear and ask around for other Med El users? They are very few in number but there was a lady the other day who just had her surgery for one.
 
R2D2 said:
Cochlear and AB implants are MRI safe but you still need to have a minor surgery to have the magnet part taken out (the rest can be left in). This is because magnets and MRIs don't get on. The Med El website on the other hand claims you don't need surgical removal of the magnet at all. http://www.medel.com/ENG/INT/20_Products/10_Pulsar_Implant/999_mri_safe.asp

Hope that helps!
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:popcorn: Trying to catch up...
Hmmm, didn't know that about Cochlear and AB being MRI safe -- what about Freedom? Anyone know?
 
sr171soars said:
Er...you can tell I love hats. It became more important since I moved south to NC eight years. When you are ah...a little sparse on top, you gotta do what you gotta do to protect it from the sun...:D

I will be honest and tell you that I worried a bit whether my hats would continue to fit when I got my CI.
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(off the post) -- you are wise to wear hats/caps -- my father is struggling with skin cancer -- he had been outdoors all his life (sailing and whatnot with no hat/cap) -- and he's regretting it and my mom yells at the family to protect themselves from the sun -- (okay, back to the post)
 
Freedom is a model name made by Cochlear. :)

like car make is cochlear model is Freedom
 
Boult said:
Freedom is a model name made by Cochlear. :)

like car make is cochlear model is Freedom
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sr171soars said:
Boult answered Greema before I did...so ignore...
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Thanks, guys! (I can see Fragmenter trying to hide cos his old momma knows nothing about cars, sports and now this! :whistle: )

:scatter:
 
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