Ah, okay. I'm not sure what that vibrator headpiece is, I've never been tested with that ever and I have never seen it, so I really have no idea. So I will leave this up to the other ADers who have experience with this kind of headpiece to explain about that because I have never heard of it. As for your hearing losses, update us when you get your copy of the audiograms. I think it might help if I saw the audiogram.
I do not know the total cost for surgery expenses and 2 CIs total for bilateral CI surgery. Also it can vary depending on which hospital, which CI clinic, and which CI company you get your CI from. In my case, I had only my left ear implanted, and the CI and the surgery expenses for me totaled about $60,000 but Medicare and Medicaid negotiated with the hospital, the CI clinic, and Cochlear Americas and got everything reduced to $20,000 and then they paid the entire thing off and I did not even have to pay one red cent. I also got a backup CI coil and BTE too.
Sounds like you picked a good color. I chose black because black goes with everything. You can't really go wrong with black because it match with every color there is...matches your glasses, hair, clothes, whatever!
Yeah, I am not nuts about bodyworns. The long cord is annoying. Very annoying. Sometimes I even wish there were nothing but the coil on my head, nothing on my ear, LOL, because sometimes I do not like to have the BTE hanging on my ear. Maybe someday the CIs technology will get so good that it will get so small that it will be only a coil with magnet on the head, and no BTE on the ear. That would be nice. Your bead string idea is awesome.
Sure, ask me anything. Yes, the CI BTE and coil for the Freedom is water resistant but it is NOT waterproof. Water resistant means that you can get a little bit of water on your CI BTE and coil accidentally, but it is built to protect against that. But, you still cannot drop the CI BTE and coil in water like in puddle or toilet or pool, because it will damage the CI BTE and coil - too much water and also the water immersion is very bad. Despite what the pictures show, you cannot just play in the rain or in the pool with your CI BTE and coil on. The resistance is for small minor accidents only - so if like for example you are walking from your car to the store and it is a long way, and while you are walking, it suddenly starts to rain. You say "oh shit" and you have to run to the store but your CI BTE and coil will still be ok, and then when you get home you have to put the CI BTE and coil in the Dry and Store box to make sure it gets completely dry so there will be no damage. Don't just stand in the rain. You still need to run or better yet take your CI BTE and coil off and put it in your bag in a plastic bag or a protective box or something to keep it dry. I always take my CI BTE and coil off if it starts to rain and then go find a dry place and then I dry my hair and then I put the CI BTE and coil back on. The water resistance only just offers a little bit of protection. It also is good for when you sweat a bit, but if you are sweating a LOT, you need to put a paper towel or a piece of cloth between your CI BTE and coil and the skin/scalp so the sweat does not get into the CI BTE and coil. You still need to be careful. I would not go into the pool with a dolphin while wearing my CI BTE and coil. That picture is just advertisement. They design those type of pictures for competition because Cochlear Americas and AB are the two biggest competitive CI companies. They make pictures like this to make one CI look better than the other. It's like any other product out there. Every company that makes any kind of product always designs their advertisements and pictures so that it looks much more awesome than it really is. It's just competition. You still have to protect your CI BTE and coil no matter what. Keep in mind that the Nucleus Freedom CI is $7,000 apiece, so that means it has expensive parts in there. It's so much more expensive than the most fanciest Mac computer out there, therefore it is still quite fragile no matter what the pictures suggest. You still need to be careful.
My spot behind the ear was numb for a few months but now it is back to normal and it feels fine now. It's normal. When the skin gets cut during any kind of surgery, the skin around the incision will feel numb for a while while it heals because when the skin gets cut, the nerves will go numb temporarily, and the nerves will for the most part grow back. Yes, I can feel the bump on my head even today. It's still there, but I am used to it. It doesn't bother me. I even sleep on my left side where my CI bump is. It does not bother me, either. You might want to sleep on the non-CI side at first until your CI side heals, then when you start to feel comfortable you can go back to sleeping on the CI implant side if you want.
and from what i have read it is an older implant, the latest is Freedom implant with Contour Advance electrode (which I have). Correct me if i am wrong, Here's the link below