Choosing between ab & med-el

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bionicboy_

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I'm having a difficult time with deciding which brand to choose and I've been explanted recently due to implant issues from Cochlear. So Cochlear isn't an option for me anymore. At first I was leaning towards AB but then I like MED-EL for their longer electrodes since I have hearing loss all across the frequencies. So MED-EL seem to be good choice for me since they can reach low frequencies. But now I like AB for its advanced internal device capabilities and it seem to offer more possibilities that haven't been tapped yet. It's so difficult. Which brand would you recommend?
 
AB and MedEl are really great. I have AB for myself and have been extremely happy, but I'm sure you will be happy with either choice. Make a list of pros and cons of each company, and see which one "wins". What do you really want the most? The long electrode from Med El, or the tech capabilities from AB? Do you want an all-in-one device like the Rondo from Med-El (and have a BTE option)? Do you want a completely waterproof device (the Neptune from AB)? They both have their own variety of options, it's just a matter of narrowing down which ones you really want to take advantage of.
 
Don't forget the Tmic from AB that lets you hold a phone to the ear and not have to search for the connection elsewhere on your head.
 
I am a now retired professional musician who chose AB a year ago because I felt I would regain more normalcy with their equipment. I know I will never perform or conduct again and over time have faced that. No ones equipment would have given that back to me. What I have received is good conversational skills. I was tested yesterday and acheived 96% in quiet environment and 52% in noise. This is from less than 20% and absolutely 0 in noise just 11 months ago. I believe that I would have acheived simmilar results whether I had chosen AB, Med-El or Cochlear devices. It is the hard work put into therapy that has produced results. As for AB, I received a Neptune and ComPilot with my first processor kit in January 2016 and and two processors and a Roger pen with my second kit last July. The processors are of course interchangeable (right or left). My Roger quit working for some reason about a month ago and I spoke with my audiologist about it yesterday. She said she would send instructions about what to do. This morning a brand new Roger arrived at my door, overnighted from AB. Now to me that is real service with the customer's interest placed first. I'm sure the other companies perform well also, but this is my experience.
 
Longer doesn't mean better.
Think of the cochlea as a spiral staircase. The outer rail and the inner pole start and end in the same place. ABs midscala electrode hugs the "inner" part of this spiral. Other electrodes HAVE to be longer because they are basically the outside rail.
bionicboy_ said:
I'm having a difficult time with deciding which brand to choose and I've been explanted recently due to implant issues from Cochlear. So Cochlear isn't an option for me anymore. At first I was leaning towards AB but then I like MED-EL for their longer electrodes since I have hearing loss all across the frequencies. So MED-EL seem to be good choice for me since they can reach low frequencies. But now I like AB for its advanced internal device capabilities and it seem to offer more possibilities that haven't been tapped yet. It's so difficult. Which brand would you recommend?
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bionicboy_ said:
I'm having a difficult time with deciding which brand to choose and I've been explanted recently due to implant issues from Cochlear. So Cochlear isn't an option for me anymore. At first I was leaning towards AB but then I like MED-EL for their longer electrodes since I have hearing loss all across the frequencies. So MED-EL seem to be good choice for me since they can reach low frequencies. But now I like AB for its advanced internal device capabilities and it seem to offer more possibilities that haven't been tapped yet. It's so difficult. Which brand would you recommend?
Click to expand...
If you do your research Cochlear puts more time, effort and money into research and development than all other brands combined (and are the leader in the industries) originally geared just towards speech, now they have expanded since the caveman days. Its funny what a lot of people say about each of the brands and most are false due to all the "heard it through the grapevines" of Anti-CIers.... There are a lot of fact sheets out there to prove this.
People say this and that is wrong, fails... Honestly they all have failures whether it be Human error, Manufacturers error or just plain ole health issues.... its a 50/50 chance no matter what you choose.
 
Jane B. said:
Don't forget the Tmic from AB that lets you hold a phone to the ear and not have to search for the connection elsewhere on your head.
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Cochlear has the t-coil, sadly you don't do your research first like so many.....
 
Jane B. said:
Don't forget the Tmic from AB that lets you hold a phone to the ear and not have to search for the connection elsewhere on your head.
Click to expand...

sonocativo said:
Then what do you think she is referring to?
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I had to look back to see who the "she" you refer to might be and came to the conclusion that it is likely me. In the meantime LoveBlue has posted a link to the illustration of what I was referring to from the AB site. It allows the user to put the phone to the ear like someone not using a CI does — not needing to find where the CI connection is on their head.
 
Jane B. said:
I had to look back to see who the "she" you refer to might be and came to the conclusion that it is likely me. In the meantime LoveBlue has posted a link to the illustration of what I was referring to from the AB site. It allows the user to put the phone to the ear like someone not using a CI does — not needing to find where the CI connection is on their head.
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They don't need to find the headpiece to put the phone, they can put the phone at the top of the processor on their ear, or if they have the neptune, put it by the mics on it.
 
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I don't have to "find" a head piece ( which I assume youre referring to the "Processor") and I never use the Tcoil setting on my processor, I just hold the phone up "normally" as well to my ear. A lot of people are mis-informed about the CI's.

YES, I was told before I got the CI that using the phone I would have to find that sweet spot to hear the phone using the Tcoil setting but also the Tcoil setting causes the processor to pick up a Buzz from the tube type Florissant lighting in stores..ect... But honestly mine don't, and I don't have to seek out a sweet spot to hear on the phone, I guess I am 1 of the few who got lucky but we have to remember its rare and everyone is different, there are no 2 alike.
Another point to ponder is, and this was an example given to us at the last meeting by a professional, The electrodes ( when Bi-Laterally implanted ) never stimulate the same nerves on each side. this is because when the hole is drilled in the cochleas they are done at random by human hands, and the electrodes when inserted only reach so far so if a hole is microscopically off, higher or lower, which can never be 100% accurate, will stimulate different nerves and that's why mappings are done individually and are never the same on both sides.
 
sonocativo said:
Which Brand did you go with just curious?
Ive seen this chart before and another I cant find at the moment showing cochlear funds more research than any of the others by 3X's or more.
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I went with AB, it seemed the technology was better in most areas.

I'm a very technical person (so my decision may have been a little biased), I majored in Computer Information Systems and had considered majoring in Engineering.

I was fascinated by AB's virtual electrodes idea
and their wide input dynamic range (from the softest to loudest sound).

AB only has 16 physical electrodes compared to med els and cochlears 20 or so electrodes, which is disappointing, but AB has 128 virtual electrodes ( which could possibly be doubled in the future with more efficient programming).

I read med el also has virtual electrodes, but they don't list them. Not sure if cochlear has virtual electrodes or something similar.


Cochlear had the lowest data rate (the time it takes for data to transfer) which was interesting. AB had the highest which was shocking to me.

The t-mic on the AB sound processor also interested me a lot. I had always wondered why my hearing aids had a microphone on top when the ear canal acted as a natural funnel for sound waves.

I didn't read anything about cochlear funding more research, but they have been around since 1981 while AB has only been around since 1993.

Cochlear has a much bigger marketahare
At 53% so you can probably assume they have more money for research.

AB has the most patents, but that doesn't mean much because people can patent almost anything.

Anyways, I found all 3 CI brands to have pluses and minuses, but in the end, I went with AB.
 
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ecp said:
Longer doesn't mean better.
Think of the cochlea as a spiral staircase. The outer rail and the inner pole start and end in the same place. ABs midscala electrode hugs the "inner" part of this spiral. Other electrodes HAVE to be longer because they are basically the outside rail.
Click to expand...

Hey, I'm new to this forum and trying to decide which CI brand is right for me. I'd like to learn more about AB's electrode hugging the "inner" part of the spiral. That's been a big question of mine. Where did you find this information? Thanks!
 
TF1 said:
I am a now retired professional musician who chose AB a year ago because I felt I would regain more normalcy with their equipment. I know I will never perform or conduct again and over time have faced that. No ones equipment would have given that back to me. What I have received is good conversational skills. I was tested yesterday and acheived 96% in quiet environment and 52% in noise. This is from less than 20% and absolutely 0 in noise just 11 months ago. I believe that I would have acheived simmilar results whether I had chosen AB, Med-El or Cochlear devices. It is the hard work put into therapy that has produced results. As for AB, I received a Neptune and ComPilot with my first processor kit in January 2016 and and two processors and a Roger pen with my second kit last July. The processors are of course interchangeable (right or left). My Roger quit working for some reason about a month ago and I spoke with my audiologist about it yesterday. She said she would send instructions about what to do. This morning a brand new Roger arrived at my door, overnighted from AB. Now to me that is real service with the customer's interest placed first. I'm sure the other companies perform well also, but this is my experience.
Click to expand...
I'm interested in the fact that you said therapy helped. What type of therapy are you referring too?
Also did the rodger pen work well for you? thanks
 
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