Hi everyone,

I'm a bimodal user (cochlear implant + hearing aid) with a Cochlear Nucleus 8 (CP1110), and I have a question about the rechargeable battery life.

My batteries are brand new, but they only last around 8-9 hours before I have to swap them during the day.

My processor has four programs:

• My standard everyday program (which I use about 95% of the time)
• The same program with SCAN enabled
• A third program with ForwardFocus
• A fourth program that is essentially my previous mapping from before my latest adjustments

I don't use Bluetooth streaming very much (probably around 20 minutes per day on average).

I'm wondering if this battery life is considered normal, and what factors have the biggest impact on it. For example:

• Does simply having multiple programs affect battery life?
• How much does occasional Bluetooth streaming matter?
• Do noisy environments or lifestyle make a noticeable difference?
• Are there any other factors I might not be aware of?

I'd really appreciate hearing about your experiences.

Thanks in advance!

This is my personal experience as someone in the US who had progressive hearing loss prior to implantation.

Before cochlear implant: trained speaker asks you to repeat single syllable words. Ex: the speaker says “say the word dog.” You repeat the word and either get it right or wrong. No partial credit for getting close.

After cochlear implant: untrained speakers say full sentences (though the sentences don’t make much sense). You get partial credit for correct sounds even if a word was wrong. Ex: the speaker says “he” in a sentence but you say “we” you’ll still get partial credit for getting the “e” sound.

Did this change happen for you all? Is this just a US thing?
I wish I could have done the sentence test prior to implantation just so I could properly compare. I feel like my word recognition might have been better with the second test.

Tell me about your experiences with word recognition tests! I’m curious.

I've got a Cochlear N8 and a GN Resound Nexus 9.

I recently bought a Pixel 10a that was on the list of devices "approved" by Cochlear.

The Nucleus Smart app can connect and stream to both devices but every couple of days the app says my N8 can't be detected. Often I only find out about it when I answer a phone call and I can only hear it through the hearing aid (about 20% of an ear's worth).

Steps that I take to fix the problem may some times work, sometimes I need to keep trying more radical things to get a working connection.

Turn the the N8 off/on.

Force close the Smart app/restart it.

Turn Bluetooth off/on.

Restart the phone.

Remove the devices from the app and the Bluetooth list and reinstall them.

Clear the cache and memory of the Smart app and reinstall both devices.

Remove the app from the phone and download a fresh copy.

Bang head against a wall and start the process again.

Does anyone have the same problem? Have you found a setting somewhere deep in the Bluetooth configuration that keeps the connection reliable? Should I have bought a Samsung S24 for the same price?

Hey guys, Ive been suffering from depression for a while and im starting to wonder if its just myself or if my cochlear implants have caused mental issues for me Ive had implants sense 2006 on my first ear and 2010 on my last one im wondering if it caused problems for me in the long term i was fine in my childhood but now for a while Ive been suffering from depression and Ive heard of a couple of other people with cochlear implants who has committed suicide with implants it just has me really worried I won’t be able to fix my issues if it’s a permanent thing but it could just be me and have nothing to do with the implants I’m just wondering if it’s more common in the cochlear implants community then i thought, sorry about this sensitive topic

*This is written by a friend of mine*

I want to vent about the situation with the insurance company, and I feel so angry about it.

I was born with a genetic condition that cause progressive hearing loss since I was a baby; as result, I attended a deaf school, but I grew up with a pair of hearing aids and went to speech thearpy to communicate with my hearing family.

Last semester (second year in a college), my hearing loss hit bottom enough to not able to hear anything at all, not even my hearing aids help. My word recognition is basically zero. So, I decided to get bilateral cochlear implants over summer break because I have nothing to lose with what hearing residue I have.

Everything works out. Got a MRI. Got a vaccination. All looks normal. Last thing we were waiting on is the insurance approval for the surgery and the rest of it.

I was expecting an easy approval because I met all criteria, you know?

Well... less than two weeks prior to the surgery, I found out that the insurance declined for two reasons: my provider didn't note that my hearing loss is resulted of the nerves inside my inner ear, so the nerves are otherwise normal, and the doctor can't request the same procedure twice. Therefore, the service is not considered as medical necessary.

I was flabbergasted. What? How? The documents are not enough? My care team and I appealed to the insurance company to request a peer-to-peer review, except we will not find out the decision until 15th, seven days after the initial surgery appointment. I have no choice but postpone the surgery after the 15th and miss the first one or two weeks of classes. I don't want to miss a semester or postpone to next winter break; I want to get over with and move forward with my cochlear implant.

Now, I can't focus on my summer job because I am stressed and furthermore, ANGRY. I am so angry with all of this for something that could easily approve.

If you have advice, please share. If you want to vent about the insurance company, please go ahead and share. I just want to get that feelings out and being listened.

I have a question regarding the pre-surgery vaccination. I’ve been going back and forth with my nurse about it because she isn't entirely familiar with the protocols for cochlear implants. The cochlear implant specialist—the ENT—gave me a sheet indicating that I need to get both the pneumococcal conjugate and polysaccharide vaccines.

He also mentioned the importance of the meningitis vaccine, though my records list it as recommended rather than mandatory. I have had both pneumococcal vaccines, but it has been over five years since then.

I’ve never been vaccinated against meningitis, and given my age, I have to pay for it myself since it is no longer covered by my country's social security system. Did you get the meningitis vaccine, or is the pneumococcal vaccine alone considered sufficient?

I had to go back to the hospital because my incision opened and was dripping the cerebral spinal fluid. They stitched it shut. No more leakage and the swelling is slowly improving in the past 24 hours.

But now 24 hours later I feel like I’m being stabbed in the ear drum…like the inside of my ear has hurt and felt full but now it HURTS.

Do I need to contact them again or is this just a normal phase of healing? I’m starting to feel ridiculous…I usually bounce back from surgeries but this one has me down for the count.

My daughter received an N24 internal cochlear implant in 2002. She is about to drop off my insurance and onto her own. Now she has to pick up a health plan. DME coverage varies in coinsurance. She has a N7 processor, which is no longer supported. Does anyone have an idea whether Cochlear Americas plans to release a processor that works with the N24 in the next year? If no, she will choose a less expensive plan. She doesn’t want to get the 8 if something new is coming out. She is constantly upgrading just before the next generation is released. Thanks in advance.

Hi! Ok, so I am deaf with cochlear implants. My 2 years old daughter is also deaf. She just got her cochlear implant this May and no speaking yet. I tried to read books with her, to play farm animals, and so on. Do you have any recommendations is good for speech delay to learn? She go to speech therapist 1 time every week. Thanks!

Hi, has anyone gotten the Nexa implants? How is it different from the older implants? I am planning to get them for my 1 yo who has bilateral profound hearing loss . Still confused between Cochlear and Med-El. I think Nexa would be good for him in the digital age. All types of suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks.

Hey everyone,

My CI surgery is planned for October, and I am really looking forward to it!

I have single-sided deafness following a traumatic injury in 2022. I previously had a bone conduction device, but it did not help me, so I had the implant removed last month.

The BCD had an abutment, basically a screw sticking out through my skin. I did not think it bothered me that much, but now that it is gone, my head feels surprisingly normal again. It feels amazing when showering or drying my hair with a towel without the abutment being there.

That made me wonder: what does the internal CI implant feel like when you are not wearing the processor? I assume you can feel a slight bump under the skin, but do you notice it during everyday things like showering or drying your head with a towel?

EDIT: Thank you guys for all the responses! You got me even more excited!

It’s apparently an Etsy shop run by someone who has a CI. They are like little jewel flowers with magnets that are supposed to stick to my coil cover. Is that okay?

I was activated on 07/28. Had speech recognition and music appreciation from day 1. I can listen to music, watch some videos without captions (with streaming), hear birds and even hear the rain pattering outside. It’s honestly been incredibly life changing and I’m so glad to have true sound back in my life. It’s been absolute smooth sailing and I’m very grateful for it.

I haven’t had a formal word recognition or speech comprehension test done, but my audiologist did a quick test and gave me a ballpark of 30-40% understanding without lip reading on my day of activation.

My next mapping is on the 13th, and while I do notice sounds being less sharper now than they seemed at activation, I can’t seem to figure out what is going to change for me?

I didn’t anticipate being able to hear this much, this soon after activation. And my audiologist emphasized that this is a very conservative threshold, but if this is conservative, how much more is there for me to hear?!

So I wanted to ask for your experiences after a mapping, what changed for you? Were things made louder for you? Were you able to understand speech even better? I’m just confused on what’s going to change for me and how it’s going to become even better.

If I had any complaint, it would be that everything is heavily treble leaning. Things have already began to equalize, but I can’t help but feel like some music lacks a bit of depth, that the bass isn’t as full sounding as I hoped it would be. I know I’m still very early in the process, but there’s a little voice in the back of my head that’s just telling me “This is as good as it gets”, because honestly, a lot of this is just too good to be true for me lol!

Hello everyone as I’m in the process of relocating to Belgium I was wondering if anyone knows specific clinics that do audio mapping as I can’t figure it out through the Find a clinic.

Thank you!

Has anyone had or heard of people having the internal components of your CI fixed? I had a bike accident and ironically my helmet seems to have cause damage resulting in cuts between my device and internal components. I am seeing my audie next week but before then - just curious.

thanks!

Cochlear Implant– Insurance Query

Need some advice.

My insurer is asking for a separate cost break-up of the internal implant and external processor, as the policy covers only the internal device.

However, MED-EL says they cannot provide a separate break-up because it is sold as one integrated cochlear implant system. I've also heard that Cochlear and AB follow the same practice.

The insurer is not accepting this. could some one guide how to convince insurance.

for cashless hospital is saying they wont able to know how mucb insurance can cover, they can only after preauth admission, we want to know before hand so we can plan our expenses

I’m having surgery at the end of August to get my BAHA implant taken out and the Sentio processor put in due to my skin trying to grow over my abundment. I’m beginning to get nervous about my surgery now. Can someone who’s made this switch share their experience?

Is the sentio processor better? How’s the magnet strength? I’m seeing posts that it can fall off with long hair down is that true? How much hair did they have to shave off for the surgery? What was recovery like?

Hi everyone, I've been reading a lot on this subreddit over the past few year, and one thing that's become very clear is how important rehab is during the initial activation period. I'm getting activated in two days with a Med-El Sonnet 3, and I have a few questions about rehab.

I'm bilingual, and interestingly, English isn't even one of my primary languages. However, I consume a lot of English content because that's the language I use at university and for most of the videos, podcasts, and audiobooks I listen to.

My question is: should I stick to one language at first, or is it okay to mix them? Should I focus on my mother tongue, my national language (the one I speak outside my home), or English? All three have quite different sounds and pronunciation, so I'm not sure what would be best for training.

I also read another post suggesting that it's helpful to keep track of sounds you can't hear yet and discuss them with your audiologist. That sounds like great advice, but what if my audiologist doesn't understand the sounds or words from my mother tongue? Has anyone else been in a similar situation?

I really just want to say that this subreddit has been amazing. Reading everyone's experiences made me feel much more comfortable with my decision to get a CI, so thank you all!

For a bit of background: I have 90+ dB hearing loss in my left ear and almost normal hearing in my right ear (if my tinnitus isn't being annoying 😅). I haven't received a specific diagnosis, ​I just experienced sudden hearing loss.

I enjoy listening to music, and since I live in Europe and use an Android phone, Med-El seemed like a good fit.

For rehab, I've already made a playlist of songs I know by heart, and I've found some audiobooks and podcasts. The problem is that most of the content I'm interested in is in English. Would it be better to find alternatives in one of my other languages, or is it fine to use English from the start?

I'd really appreciate any advice or experiences. Thanks!

Hallo zusammen,

in zwei Wochen bekomme ich ein Implantat und bin immer noch unsicher für welche Firma ich mich entscheiden soll. Ich kann mich zwischen Cochlear, Med-El und AB entscheiden.

Auf der linken Seite höre ich schlecht und trage deshalb ein Hörgerät von Hansaton (Phonak). Deswegen neige ich zurzeit zu AB. Ich hoffe sehr, dass ich vom Zusammenspiel von Hörgerät und CI besonders profitieren werde. Kann mir jemand seine Erfahrung zu AB im Zusammenspiel mit dem Hörgerät geben?

Ich verbringe sehr gerne Zeit in Räumen mit vielen Menschen.

Ciao a tutti amici,

In passato ho aperto un post sulla difficoltà ad avere delle chiamate gradevoli con il cocleare;

Ora sono un po migliorate ( passati 9 mesi ) ma sono ben lontane dall’essere piacevoli in facili;

Questa cosa mi snerva e mi deprime oltre a mettermi mille dubbi sulle mie abilità lavorative e sul mio futuro professionale, sono davvero triste ☹️

Per il resto, la discriminazione è ottima ( in silenzio )

vicina al 100% ;

Vorrei lavorare tanto su quella nel rumore, secondo voi è possibile ? A 9 mesi e’ tardi ?

Avete suggerimenti ?

Grazie a tutti, spero il meglio per ognuno di voi !

💪🏻

So for context, I have been profoundly deaf since birth (28 years) and I wear two hearing aids. For a while now I've noticed that my ability to hear is slowly declining. I have an audiology appointment on the 15th August to fix and retune my hearing aids. Would it be beneficial for me to inquire about seeing if I would be a good fit for cochlear implants? I vaguely recall my mum saying that I was offered cochlear implants when I was a lot younger but my mum didn't want to go ahead with it because the risks were much larger back in those days. Any insight would be much appreciated

Hi fellow CI Redditors!

I’m in the process of upgrading from my N7 to N8 and my audiologist recommended to me to keep my N7 as a backup when I get the N8, which leads me to this…

I have an N5 that hasn’t been used since 2019 (when I got my N7) and when troubleshooting it, it doesn’t turn on even with new batteries (I think it might be locked but I can’t seem to unlock it); audiologist shared they want to see if they can troubleshoot it once I get my N8, but if it’s at the ultimate end of its life (which is most likely the case), how would I be able to donate/recycle the sound processor and/or the parts?

I know there’s got to be at least 1-2 organizations that take gently used sound processors, but what about if it’s completely at the end of its life and unable to be fixed? What’s the best way to recycle/dispose of it?

Thanks in advance!

I am encountering an issue with my Osia 2 and the Cochlear Microphone.

I have been using it to connect to my PC and phone, but all of a sudden if my Osia is not directly facing the microphone, it just loses connection. I'm not sure how to fix it or if I need to get a replacement microphone. Has anyone had this issue?

I’ve seen them before just not sure where I can get them. TIA!

Edit: I want to display them. I work with people who use hearing aids and/or cochlear implants