Re:Implant Brand Questions

[Guest guest]

Hi Amy,

What you need to look into is reliability, safety, and convenience of

using the implants. That being said, I'll mention that cochlear Corp

was the first company ever approved to implant a child at age 12 months.

They now do children as young as 9 months of age if there is meningitis,

because the wait of 3 months can make insertion of the electrode array

more difficult.

Cochlear has the longest track record, being the first company to make

a multi channel implant, and their reliability statistics are unmatched.

You don't want to go through surgery, only to have device failure and

have to go through it again. So for your own piece of mind, check the

safety and recall records of any company you are considering. These are

FDA mandated. The FDA also maintains records of recalls that companies

have done either voluntarily or because they were ordered to do so.

Ease of use - the Freedom by Cochlear, which has more electrodes than

any other, more mapping strategies (ways of programming the processor) ,

a self curling electrode array that hugs the center of the cochlea and

sends the signals where they are supposed to be, and various combinations

of baby worn processors that can be converted into behind the ear

processors as your child grows. Equally important is the fact that the

processors can run on either disposable or rechargeable batteries. No

other company offers that. So when you're around the house, you can use

the rechargeables, but when you travel somewhere, you take disposables

and don't have to worry about something extra to pack and possibly use.

Cochlear is committed to backwards compatability. I was implanted

with a Cochlear produce 10 years ago. The original processor I wore (a

body worn) was updated with a behind the ear processor. That was later

updated to the 3G behind the ear processor, and now the Freedom processor

- with 4 programs and various ways of mapping them still works with my 10

year old internal array. Had I been implanted with the other brand

available at the time, I would be stuck with the old technology.

So all these are points to consider. If your insurance company will

pay for bilaterals, it is the way to go. If she has no amplifiable

hearing in either ear, you may as well get both done at the same time.

Good luck on your decision. If you want to discuss this further off

forum, feel free to contact me.

5c.

Implant Brand Questions

Posted by: " Amy " nascarmom20@... nascarmom20

Sat Jan 12, 2008 7:12 pm (PST)

Hi everyone. I have a question.....I don't post on here much, so I will

tell our situtation very briefly. We adopted a 9 month old (now 12

months) from Guatemala. When we got her home we found out she was deaf in

both ears. We are seeing drs and have gotten an implant date. There is a

clinical trial going on for bilaterals in young children that our dr.

said we could be part of. So, we have our initial meeting with our CI

team on Jan 28th. They are fast tracking us through, so we have to decide

things quickly, and be ready. Our surgery is Feb 26th. So, by asking this

question, I know I will open a can of worms, but with having 4 other

children I am going to depend on ya'll for some help. Question

is.....what are the different brands that are out there for CI's. What

are the pros and cons? What do you like and dislike as parents of young

children?

I know our drs. are going to tell us a lot about the different brands,

but I want some head knowledge going in our meeting. I want some real

life experience, and not just what the makers of the product say.

So......with that said, any input and thoughts that you would like to

share with me would be SO appreciated.

Thanks

Amy M