I am now 71 y.o.

I am going through the same thing at the moment. On the 5th of October I have the CT and balance test and decide on what brand (reading and researching a lot). Actually did a chart between Cochlear and MedEl to make it a little easier to compare them and I'm leaning towards the Cochlear. I discounted AB early on as I really want an off the ear as my current BTE gives me constant dermatitis. Both Cochlear and MedEl appear to be excellent choices with their Kanso 2 and MedEl. Both have assigned someone to me to answer any questions I have. Cochlear appears to give more free accessories than MedEl, which is nice. I will also have a hearing aid in 'better???' ear. With both you can use any hearing aid brand but with Cochlear the Resound appears to seamlessly tie in to their device system. And with Cochlear it appears that it will tie into my Smartphone where with MedEl it needs their link. I read and was told that with both brands you get the remote free, however with Cochlear they also allow you to pick 3 other accessories for free (I don't know how much they cost to buy but my husband bought the TV Streamer for his hearing aids and it cost a little over $100).

If anyone else is using Cochlear or MedEl would love your thoughts. I friend has used Cochlear (now both ears) for years and has been really happy with them and their service. She lost a processor once and they immediately sent a replacement (you get a one time 'no questions asked' processor replacement with Cochlear if it happens during the warranty period (5 years for both Cochlear and MedEl I believe on the processor).

So far Dr Le (Scottsdale Mayo) hasn't indicated her favorite but we will be going over them on the 5th. She has been fantastic, as have their whole CI team. On the 7th I meet with the surgeon. Then I guess the team goes over everything to determine if the surgery is safe for me (I'm 81 and, knock on wood, in good health and very active).

Good luck on your journey. Julie

I was implanted with the Nucleus Freedom CI by Cochlear Corp. in 2005. I've upgraded processors during those years. I've been very pleased with the service from Cochlear Corp. The accessories were added when the N6 came on the market, prior to that I used direct audio input to hook up a hand held microphone. I also use the telecoils in both my hearing aid and CI processor a lot.

In our HLAA Chapter in Appleton Wisconsin, three people have had successful CI surgeries after age 86. Their only regret is not having done it sooner. If a person is in good health, a cochlear implant should be a good option. In most cases, CI surgery is done on an out patient basis.

We all know that binaural hearing is best. My experience also shows that the brain adapts to hearing with 2 different technologies. As a bimodal user of both a CI and a HA, it astounds me how well they work together. Further, I'm pleased with the accessories that Cochlear has provided. The mini mic 2+ is one of my "best friends!" The interesting thing is that I need both technologies up and running to be able to hear well. My hearing tests with both technologies show I have 90+ percent word recognition. Prior to the implant I was in the 20% range.

One thing that concerns me is that Cochlear has eliminated the telecoil in the off the ear Kanso2. The telecoil is important to me. I use it with several audio devices, including my laptop computer. It also connects me wirelessly to hearing loops in many places. The BTE processors still have the telecoil, so I will not be upgrading to an off the ear processor anytime soon. In fairness, I will add that the mini mic 2+ has a telecoil that will sync with the Kanso 2. It then becomes a matter of having it charged and ready to use when needed. I highly recommend that when choosing accessories for implants of Cochlear CIs, that you choose the mini mic2+ as one of them. You should not need the phone clip because the new processors can sync with your phone.

It's pretty amazing to realize that the technology we have available to us today has only been evolving for a few decades. Thirty years ago we had very few choices. So thankful!

Last piece of advice for people who plan to have cochlear implants: ASK to have an anti nausea patch prior to the surgery. NOT after it. For some reason, this is not done automatically. So be proactive and ask for it. You won't regret it.