Cochlear candidate

Agree! I anxiously await the next model. I do get the impression that once we get a CI, the clarity is better than a Ha so the HA performance almost becomes secondary. I’ll be first in line to update my processor and HA when the new version comes out and I hit the 5 year point for insurance to cover the processor. I’ll be on my own for paying for the HA-but it’s only 1!

Thanks for the helpful post.

Just to let you know Cochlear’s Nucleus Smart does everything you mentioned and more. It’s a really nice app with almost too many controls.

Something I have come to understand about CI is it really improves hearing. Enough that you don’t need technology to move sound from one side to the other to help with speech understanding. It seriously competes with good natural hearing. When my hearing was bad the Phonaks technology was really helpful to assist where my hearing was lacking but that’s not the case now with CI.

Once we CI people are implanted we are pretty much stuck with the internal implant. These internal implants become limited technology wise over time. The processors are updated regularly but not the implant. This is where the new Cochlear Nexa internal implant shines. It can be updated with new technology as it comes out. I am a bit envious of this but it is what it is. I have a feeling AB will be getting some new stuff out pretty soon. The three CI manufacturers are always going back and forth with new ideas.

I haven’t been here for a long time, so pardon me for skipping a lot of the responses.

What concerns me about implants, is both the low and high frequency limits, but also the fine response,

My sax and voice are not automatically in tune. I have to adjust to make them right. Also, I have to make very fine adjustments at time. I might want to hit a note slightly lower than I should and gradually bring it to pitch for tension and release. I might want to hit a high not just a bit sharp (higher) to add brightness, like they do when they stretch tune grand pianos. When I play guitar, I bend strings and how much out of tune they bend is important for the expression I want to portray.

A couple of cycles per second can make a big difference in music, so if the implant can’t detect that, it is of no use to me.

From what I have read, the frequency resolution of the implants is not fine enough (unless a lot has improved in the past couple of years).