They love listening to music on their phone. And then once you get them that connectivity to directly hear music, they love it.
Frequently Asked Questions about CIs for adults
Hearing aids basically make sounds louder, but for people with more hearing loss, this may not be enough to make sounds clearer or easier to understand. Cochlear implants send sound directly to the hearing nerve, where it’s sent on to the brain.
If you feel that hearing aids are not helping you enough, cochlear implants might work better for you. Talk to your hearing healthcare professional to decide if cochlear implants may be the right choice to treat your hearing loss.
Unlike hearing aids, cochlear implants are often covered by Medicare and many insurance companies.* Contact your insurance company or AB’s Insurance Reimbursement Services Team at 877.779.0229 or insurance@advancedbionics.com to find out about your specific coverage. The cost of a cochlear implant will be different based on your personal health plan.
* Cochlear implants are covered for Medicare beneficiaries who meet the CMS criteria for coverage and coverage for adult Medicaid recipients varies according to state specific guidelines.
We hear best with two ears. Hearing with both ears helps us know where sounds are coming from, and understand speech better in noisy places.
Depending on their hearing care professional’s advice and healthcare coverage, people with hearing loss sometimes get both ears implanted at the same time. Others decide to get one implant first before getting another one later.
Yes! In fact, hearing with a hearing aid in one ear and a matching cochlear implant in the other ear may help you hear better in noisy places1 and help you know where sounds are coming from. AB offers a variety of solutions that, like your natural ears, work together to maximize your hearing. Talk to your hearing health professional about using matching hearing devices to help you hear your best.
Note: Advanced Bionics cochlear implants are indicated with severe to profound bilateral sensorineural hearing loss (≥ 70 dB HL) and for pediatrics with profound bilateral sensorineural hearing loss (≥ 90 dB HL).
Your hearing care professionals are best able to tell you if cochlear implants will help. It’s important to understand that better hearing through a cochlear implant is a process, not a quick fix. But how fast you hear better depends on three things: (1) the technology used, (2) your hearing structures, and (3) hearing training. We encourage you to speak with people who hear with cochlear implants to learn about their experiences.
"I actually have a lot of patients who play musical instruments, and that's been amazing to me. They're in marching bands, they're in symphony orchestras, and things like that. …They love listening to music on their phone. And then once you get them that connectivity to directly hear music, they love it. So, that's been surprising to me because for years, we were told, oh, you really can't listen to music or music isn't good. But I have a lot of patients who, not only enjoy music but actually make music, and are, you know, participating very actively in music. So that's been really exciting."
– Jolie F, Audiologist
When you choose a cochlear implant system from AB, you will be able to upgrade to better external parts, like sound processors, in the future without more surgeries. So when technology gets better, you will still be able to take advantage of it.
Compared to many other surgeries, cochlear implant surgery is simple and minimally invasive. The surgery itself typically takes two to four hours. Because it’s done with general anesthesia, you will also spend additional time in the preparation and recovery areas.
I tell my patients that even though there is a risk, the CI will always improve their life and change their life after the surgery.
"Some of my patients are also afraid that they will lose their residual hearing after the surgery. Of course, this can happen, but it's not so often. With the new surgical techniques, with robot-assisted techniques and with a good HiRes design that we have now today, it's possible to preserve hearing in most of the cases. So, I tell my patients that even though there is a risk, the CI will always improve their life and change their life after the surgery."
– Dr. Yannik Nguyen, ENT Surgeon, Pitié-Salpêtrière University Hospital and The Hearing Institute, Paris France.
Depending on your situation and your doctor, you may go home the same day or spend the night in the hospital. Adults often return to work or typical daily activities within a few days after CI surgery. Your new CI will be activated, or “turned on,” two to four weeks after the implantation surgery, depending on how well you heal. Then, once it’s activated, you will start to hear through your new cochlear implant.
First, find out if a cochlear implant might help you by taking our candidacy quiz and speaking to a hearing health professional. From there, AB will have specialists who will answer all your questions, support you throughout implantation surgery, recovery, and activation. AB will also connect you with a mentor—someone who already hears with a cochlear implant so you can get their first-hand experience. Even after your CI is activated, our AB specialist will stay with you to make sure you get the most out of your CI with hearing training tools and resources. Further down the line, they’ll also make sure you won’t miss out on any upgrade opportunities to improve your hearing even further.
Yes, air travel is safe for people with cochlear implants. Metal detectors and security scanners should not damage the implant or sound processor. But, when you go through security metal detectors, your cochlear implant may activate the alarm. That's why it’s helpful for you to carry your “Patient Emergency Identification Card” with you at all times.
No. The Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) has confirmed that Advanced Bionics cochlear implant recipients are EXEMPT from powering off their sound processors when instructions are given to turn off mobile phones, music players, or any electrical/digital device with an on/off switch. The FAA includes cochlear implants in the Hearing Aid category, exempting them from the requirement to be switched off.
No. Metal detectors and security scanners should not damage the implant or sound processor. However, cochlear implant recipients passing through security metal detectors and scanners may activate the alarm. It is advised that patients carry their “Patient Emergency Identification Card” with them at all times. Cochlear implant recipients also might hear a distorted sound caused by the magnetic field around the security scanner door or hand-held scanning wand. Turning the sound processor volume down before passing through security screening will ensure that those sounds, if they occur, are not too loud or uncomfortable. Cochlear implant recipients may request a full-body pat-down with visual and physical inspection of the sound processor in place of the standard metal detector or scanner with x-ray procedure.
X-ray machines will not damage the sound processor; however, x-ray machines have the potential to damage the microphones used in most cochlear implant systems and hearing aids. As a precaution, avoid placing these items in cargo luggage or carry-on luggage that are screened with x-ray machines. During airport security screening, the processor T-Mic™, and any spare parts carried should either be worn through the metal detector/scanner or examined by hand.
Yes! AB’s HiRes Ultra 3D Cochlear Implant is safe for up to 3.0 Tesla MRI scans without any preparation, surgery, or head bandaging. Simply take off your headpiece and sound processor before the MRI, and put them back on afterwards.
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Advanced Bionics (2016) Bimodal StereoZoom Feature: Enhancing Conversation in Extreme Noise for Unilateral AB Implant Recipients White Paper.
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