"[Brian] kicked himself many times over the years for going with Cochlear."
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Cochlear vs Advanced Bionics: Why We Switched Cochlear Implant Brands
Tuesday, June 2, 2026
It’s not often that cochlear implants bring two people together for life. It’s even rarer that someone experiences hearing with two different cochlear implant brands: Advanced Bionics and Cochlear. Debra and her husband Brian have lived this unique journey, and they know firsthand that not all cochlear implants offer the same benefits. This is their story.
How Cochlear Implants Brought Us Together
I grew up with normal hearing until age 17, when I woke up deaf one morning. Living in Alaska, at the time, local testing couldn't find the problem. The current belief is that my hearing loss was likely due to delayed reactions to excessive antibiotics, recurrent ear infections or measles that I had as a child. In 1985, I was one of the first people to hear with cochlear implants from Advanced Bionics and participated in many of their research and clinical trials for subsequent products.
Brian was born with hearing loss and received his first hearing aid at age 9. His parents put him into private schools. Before his hearing aid, they told him he "was slow."
He got through high school, college, and graduate school with degrees in biology and human physiology. He attended podiatry school for four years, and that's when his hearing took a nosedive, causing him to shift his career to Wall Street.
In 2005, a mutual friend introduced me to Brian. Our friend was an Advanced Bionics cochlear implant (CI) recipient, and Brian had reached out online to join an online group to ask questions. I was running a Yahoo group for Advanced Bionics recipients at the time. Brian already had a CI from the brand Cochlear, but he joined because he was interested in getting another for his other ear.
There were very few people with CIs in both ears back then. Brian had his second ear implanted with another Cochlear device in 2006. Brian and I became friends and started long-distance dating.
Living together gave us a keen understanding of each other's cochlear implants. While we both had cochlear implants, it was clear from the beginning that we heard the world differently. Our home is large, and I could hear the doorbell or a knock at the door from further back in the house than he could. I've been a huge music fan since AB came out with HiRes and Fidelity 120. Music with his Cochlear devices was not as enjoyable for him, so it was infrequent that he bothered to listen.
MRI Compatibility: The Advanced Bionics Advantage
In 2020, I had a stroke. I lost the use of my left arm for a bit. It's all resolved now, but it affirmed that we were getting older and the MRI question was looming. When I was in the hospital, many people mentioned that with my CI from 2002, it was "too bad" I couldn't have an MRI. I needed 12.
In 2021, I had a long talk with the surgeon, and we decided that it would be in my best interest to do a revision and put in AB's HiRes Ultra 3D implant, a modern device that could have MRIs. I had to research CIs again from the MRI standpoint and was so glad to see that AB could have 200 MRIs before the internal magnet might need replacing. With Cochlear, that number was only 10 MRIs, with positional limitations, before the internal magnet needed surgical replacement.
It was a no-brainer to go with AB again. My CI was replaced that year, and after about six months of rehab, I was back hearing as well as I did before. I had some ossification in my ear and was only able to get 14 electrodes put in. Thankfully, AB's software compensates for this, and the pitches from the electrodes that didn't make it in were allotted to other electrodes.
In 2024, Brian woke up one morning with a swollen face, and the doctor wanted to do an MRI. Of course he couldn't have one. It turned out he had a small benign parotid tumor. Surgery was done and life went on. We were still having that MRI conversation though.
But the MRI wasn't the only reason Brian was thinking about switching CI brands. Back in 2003 when he was first choosing a cochlear implant, he had actually thought AB seemed more advanced based on their literature. However, as a hearing aid user, he wanted the option to use disposable hearing aid batteries. At that time, AB only offered rechargeable batteries with their Platinum body processor and CII BTE. He was told by his provider that “they are all the same”, so he went with Cochlear instead.
Switching from Cochlear to Advanced Bionics: Brian's Experience
Another discussion with our surgeon took place, and in July 2025, Brian had a bilateral surgery to replace both of his Cochlear devices with Advanced Bionics Ultra 3D devices. It was a flawless surgery. The surgery was completely covered by Medicare and our supplemental insurance.
Brian started hearing better as soon as the AB implants were turned on. Everyone in the family has noticed how much better he hears. I wasn't surprised though. I assumed he would have better hearing. After all, he was given more pitches with the AB implants.
As we were having coffee one morning, I asked him to describe the main differences he's noticed. He thought about this and had this to say:
"With Cochlear, music sounded flat and I did not hear as much range as I do with AB. I hear the lyrics much clearer in comparison to Cochlear. I now get almost all the lyrics. I enjoy listening to classical and jazz with AB. It's much fuller than what I had with Cochlear. The same music is now fuller, sharper, and more distinct. It's an overall different experience. It's not a small difference; it's a big difference.
The sound quality of phone calls is better with AB. Talking on the phone is easier, and the sound quality is superior. AB's noise program is much better than the one I had before. I feel more confident having a conversation in noise than I did before. I love the T-Mic! Even before I had them, I thought it was a brilliant design because AB was using the natural anatomy of the ear to enhance hearing. Now that I have them, I was right!"
Brian is very happy he made the switch to AB and wishes he had been able to do it sooner.
“The sound quality of phone calls is better with AB. Talking on the phone is easier, and the sound is superior.”
Choosing Between Brands: Advice for Candidates
My advice for anyone considering cochlear implants is this: you owe it to yourself not to jump on any bandwagons. Take the time to delve deep into what each company offers. They are not all the same.
Make sure the information you're getting comes from the source, not the competition. If you have family or friends who know about engineering or are engineers, let those people look at the specifics of the technology with you.
When I initially chose AB in 2002, my decision was based on white papers showing the device was only using 10% of its capacity, which meant significant room for future advancements. In other words, as technology improved over time, my AB implant would allow me to take advantage of them. That was huge to me. We also focused on the electrodes and each having its own power source seemed better than just one power source for all electrodes.
Your cochlear implant will be with you for years to come. Do your research. Ask the hard questions. And make the choice that's right for your hearing journey.
Note: The views expressed in this post are those of the author. Each person's situation is unique so your experience may not be the same. Talk to your hearing care provider about whether a cochlear implant is right for you.
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