Advanced Bionics

Overview page

My name is Fred and I am currently in my early 30’s. While I was born “hearing,” I began to lose my ability to do so in my early 20’s. A hearing test showed that I had some loss in one ear and more significant loss in the other. It got worse a few years later. I remember when I was out with a friend. I could see his lips moving and I could hear his voice, but I couldn’t understand anything he was saying. I was approved for Bi-CROS hearing aids at that time. While they helped in some situations, I felt like I wasn’t getting what I truly wanted out of them. After doing my own research on cochlear implants, discussing brand options with my surgeon, audiologist, and an AB rep, I decided on Advanced Bionics. All of my options seemed to have similar results in terms of speech understanding, but AB seemed to be the most technologically advanced for the internal device, and they had the most color options for the external device which was really important to me. I wanted mine to stick out because there is a lack of awareness for hearing loss--nobody can see that we can’t hear. With a more visible hearing device, I’ve already seen people do their best to accommodate me, such as looking at me when speaking, or speaking more clearly when I ask them to repeat themselves. I feel that getting implanted was one of the best decisions I have ever made. While the sound quality isn’t always perfect, my overall quality of life has greatly improved. My word recognition in my bad ear more than tripled after only 6 months. I regularly stream music and phone calls through my device, I have been able to go out more often, and I actually feel like I can be a part of conversations again instead of just sitting on the sidelines. Find more stories from people with cochlear implants: https://www.advancedbionics.com