Problems with Advanced Bionics Naida CI

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New member here although I've been reading for a while. I got an AB Naida processor late last year and have experienced multiple problems. AB has been great about shipping several new processors and t-mics overnight. All of the issues seem to be associated with being outside in hot humid weather where the hair may become moist and also because the t-mic seems very fragile. Just wondering if I'm somehow cursed or if others are also experiencing reliability issues?
Thanks
 
ear gear is a cool option, hopefully I'll have another pair that comes with my hearing aids I may get soon this summer!!!
 
I don't have any personal experience with a Naida other than holding it, but it's easy to see that the T-Mic2 is definitely less durable than the original used with Harmony processors. It's held in place by wire, instead of a thick piece of plastic. As far as moisture goes, hopefully you are putting your whole Naida in a dry and store every night if you are having moisture problems. I know my kit came with a zephyr for just that purpose, hopefully they are still including it with Naida kits.
 
hazridi said:
It's held in place by wire, instead of a thick piece of plastic.
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This is not the problem. The breaking point is at the earhook right where it connects to the processor. The same issue occurs with the standard earhook. The wire has not been an issue as it is very flexible. If you don't drop it, you should be fine. They are going to modify it so that the connecting point is more durable. You won't actually see a difference visually.
 
No problems with mine, the t-mic - processor connection feels solid enough. What are you doing to your processors? I live in FL, and if I'm outdoors for an extended amount of time, I roll a small piece of tissue and place it between the processor and my head to absorb sweating. As soon as I get back to my place, the worn processor is dehumidifies and I just wear the other. Sure it's covered by my long hair but I have the entire low sections of my hair shaved off to ward off tangling, excess moisture and heat etc, it isn't obvious because of all the high maintenance involved.
 
femme Fatale said:
No problems with mine, the t-mic - processor connection feels solid enough. What are you doing to your processors?.
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:lol: That's exactly what goes through my head when I read about the problems some people are having. I haven't had any issues either short of dropping the processor once and having the Tmic snap off. I'm reluctant to point fingers though as I don't want to find out the hard way that I've been lucky so far.

I also never had any issues with my Harmony, where some people were always having their Tmic fail. I don't overly baby my equipment, but a microphone in excessive moisture, unless it's an aquamic, is never good no matter the IP rating of the processor. We should all know that already from our hearing aid days.
 
femme Fatale said:
No problems with mine, the t-mic - processor connection feels solid enough. What are you doing to your processors.
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I'm using it as designed. With an IP rating of 57 it should be able withstand being immersed in 3 meters of water for 30 minutes with no ill affects. Why would a little humidity or a few drops of sweat affect it? One person from AB mentioned corrosion on the connector pins and sockets in an apology but if the pins and sockets are gold plated as is normal of task critical connectors why would corrosion be a problem? If they're not plated then shame on someone. I have worn hearing aids for 50 years and had my share of failures from moisture but nothing close to this. I have a drawer full of old hearing aids that eventually quit working and I expect that 90% of them finally died while I was hot and I don't recall any of them having a hyped IP rating much less of 57. Yet all of them lasted years before quitting. These AB processors will die within minutes of going outside and getting sweaty. I Put my processor and UHP in the dryer religiously. I live in the south and you can't go outside in the summer without getting hot. As far as buying something to protect it I finally ordered an off ear clip from AB so I could get it off my head. But now I can't use the processor with the t-mic or use UltraZoom, two primary reasons I choose AB. I wore this processor all winter without a single problem and heard of no mention of others having problems (except broken t-mics). Since the weather got warm (it's not even hot yet) I've had several processor/t-mic failures from being hot. I know there are lots of other angry recipients and AB has acknowledged that. They're "Working hard on the problems". Before my retirement I was in industrial research and development and have seen a few product failures. They were all because of pressure brought (by marketing departments and/or top executives eager to start the money flowing in) on the engineering staff to release a product before it was ready. If you think a scorned woman is bad you should have to deal with a marketing department close to missing a release deadline.:roll:
 
Naida Moisture issues

I received my Naidas in January 2014. In May and June, both failed and both were quickly replaced. I do aerobics, yoga, boating on the Pacific, bike ride, and sweat in my hair when I'm too hot. I was using the dry and store but not everyday.

I now put them in the dry and store as soon as I walk in the house. While i love all the Naida's new features as a Harmony wearer for 7 Years I did not have any issues/problems. The Harmony was definitely ABs workhorse.

I was told not to go in the sauna and to switch to my backup Harmonies when working out and boating. I even worry about moisture when giving my granddaughter her bath. BOY does this defeat the purpose and certainly is a harsh lesson learned for an upgrade. Hoping for improved replacements.

Still a big AB fan but wish a lifestyle questionnaire would have been part of the process. :wave:
 
BionicBabe said:
I received my Naidas in January 2014. In May and June, both failed and both were quickly replaced. I do aerobics, yoga, boating on the Pacific, bike ride, and sweat in my hair when I'm too hot. I was using the dry and store but not everyday.

I now put them in the dry and store as soon as I walk in the house. While i love all the Naida's new features as a Harmony wearer for 7 Years I did not have any issues/problems. The Harmony was definitely ABs workhorse.

I was told not to go in the sauna and to switch to my backup Harmonies when working out and boating. I even worry about moisture when giving my granddaughter her bath. BOY does this defeat the purpose and certainly is a harsh lesson learned for an upgrade. Hoping for improved replacements.

Still a big AB fan but wish a lifestyle questionnaire would have been part of the process. :wave:
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""I was using the dry and store but not everyday."" Your answer is here! The dry n store is meant to be used every night whiles asleep!! Why store them else where as well! You may as well store them in the dry n store and get them dried out every night as well! I use mine every night without fail! I also know they are safe in there away from pets!
 
I've had my Naidas for almost a year with no ill effects. I'm wondering why, those with a lifestyle that includes so much water-boating, working out, etc.--would not get a Neptune back up to use in wet situations? I use my Neptune when I am around water or when I work out since it is waterproof.
 
Naida CI problems

I've had problems too. My processor works fine until I need to change a battery then more often that not I can't get it to go without drying everything out.This has happened twice at work whilst talking to customers which wasn't fun! I now have to manage batteries better by using a fully charged one at the start of the day so I don't have to change mid-day. This is despite the weather being dry and me doing nothing unusual.I never had a problem with the Harmony's. My main reason for posting is I,ve found my processor and battery fit exactly into my car's air con vent slats and if I wedge them in here and put the aircon on full blast they work after 10 mins. I don't suppose this is recommended but if any of you are in a situation where you are desperate might be worth a go?

Good luck to you all!
 
AB did do a quick redesign of the processors and/or batteries for better moisture control to help with this issue. it's unfortunate a lot of people have been having similar moisture problems but with this new redesign hopefully that'll help.
 
Plagued with moisture issues

I upgraded to the Naida CI in January, I was plesed with the sound and felt that was a big step up but I'm plagued with moisture related issues. I do use a dry and store every night but it seems like failure can happen in a matter of minutes, even walking to work on a humid day or puting the implant on after a shower.

I'm currently awaiting my 5th processor, the last one failed Sunday. Saturday was a humid rainy day and I attended a BBQ, placed my processor in the dryer that night and come Sunday morning, it was non-responsive.

This is obviously a design failure, I did not have thse issues with the harmony processor. Getting frustrated here and while I'm hoping the design update helps, the last processor was supposed to include the design changes and thats the one that died at the BBQ. Dont know what the next step is other than to send them back every month or 2.
 
Problems with Advanced Bionics Naidi CI

My son is bilaterally implanted and about to enter middle school. After several years with the Harmony, we upgraded to the Naida in July of this year (two months ago). Four processor failures--3 left side, one right side. We've been using the dry kit every night for both processors and batteries since the second failure, and still had another two failures. Not sure if we've had the "design improvement" processors sent to us or not, but this has been quite frustrating, and not a confidence booster as the school year is about to begin.
 
Update a few hours later...this time around, the problem appears to be with the batteries and not with the processor itself--3 batteries don't work but the fourth one does, which is strange because they've been sitting in the charger, and not on a sweaty head...Back into the dry case everything goes again, hopefully better luck tomorrow. But I hope Advanced Bionics is following threads like this--to be uncertain from one day to the next whether the equipment will work or not reflects subpar performance on AB's part.
 
J'sDad said:
Update a few hours later...this time around, the problem appears to be with the batteries and not with the processor itself--3 batteries don't work but the fourth one does, which is strange because they've been sitting in the charger, and not on a sweaty head...Back into the dry case everything goes again, hopefully better luck tomorrow. But I hope Advanced Bionics is following threads like this--to be uncertain from one day to the next whether the equipment will work or not reflects subpar performance on AB's part.
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The batteries are not supposed to be in the dry and store, just the processor and headpiece.
 
I've had my Naida since February and have not had any problems other than a broken cable (which wasn't really a problem since I had an extra and AB sent me a new cable overnight).
I don't think I'm just lucky. I live in a very hot and humid area, I am active, I sweat, I get caught in rain showers.
Despite all this, I have not had ANY processor or battery problems.
 
ecp said:
I've had my Naida since February and have not had any problems other than a broken cable (which wasn't really a problem since I had an extra and AB sent me a new cable overnight).
I don't think I'm just lucky. I live in a very hot and humid area, I am active, I sweat, I get caught in rain showers.
Despite all this, I have not had ANY processor or battery problems.
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Could it be a problem with one batch and thus those that got ones from that are having problems and those not from that batch are not?
 
the t-mic on the naida is very sensitive and breaks really easily. My audi commented on just how frequently she see's this. the first one they sent me never worked.

Interesting to hear about the humidity issues, I'll have to keep that for next time I'm traveling. I've not had much issues with moisture as I live in a fairly dry climate, but I wonder if the off-the-ear battery options would help with that? The Powerpak I think its called.

I see they've also now got a waterproof aquacase for the Naida, probably not cheap though with the need to also buy the aquamic.
 
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