AB vs. Cochlear and Med-El

Question 1

Differences between companies:

Temporal Resolution

Answer 1

(stimulation rate, pulses per second (pps))

AB HiRes BES: Up to 83,000 pps
COH’s Nucelus Freedom System: Up to 32,000 pps
COH’s Nucleus 5 System: Up to 31,500 pps
Med-El’s Maestro System: Up to 50,000 pps

Question 2

Differences between companies:

Why Temporal Resolution Matters

Answer 2

The faster the stimulation rate, the more accurate the timing of sound.

Question 3

Differences between companies:

Spectral Resolution

Answer 3

(spectral bands)

AB HiRes BES: Up to 120
COH’s Nucelus Freedom System: Up to 22
COH’s Nucleus 5 System: Up to 22
Med-El’s Maestro System: Up to 12

Question 4

Difference between companies:

Why Spectral Resolution Matters

Answer 4

The higher the resolution, the more detailed and richer sound you hear.

Question 5

Differences between companies:

Potential Pitch Percepts

Answer 5

AB HiRes BES: 460*
COH’s Nucelus Freedom System: 161*
COH’s Nucleus 5 System: 161*
Med-El’s Maestro System: Data not available

Question 6

Differences between companies:

Why Potential Pitch Percepts Matter

Answer 6

The more pitch percepts, the better the opportunity you have to differentiate complex sounds like music.

Question 7

Differences between companies:

IDR

Answer 7

(input dynamic range; dB)

AB HiRes BES: up to 80 dB
COH’s Nucelus Freedom System: 45 dB
COH’s Nucleus 5 System: 45 dB
Med-El’s Maestro System: 55 dB

Question 8

Differences between companies:

Why IDR matters

Answer 8

The wider the range, the larger spectrum of sounds you hear.

With narrow IDR, soft sounds are cut out and loud sounds are compressed, creating disproportionate relationship of inputs within environment.

(normal hearing ear has wide dynamic range ~100 dB)

Question 9

Differences between companies:

Current Sources

Answer 9

AB HiRes BES: 16
COH’s Nucelus Freedom System: 1
COH’s Nucleus 5 System: 1
Med-El’s Maestro System: 4

Med-El has 12, but haven’t implemented a strategy using simultaneous current steering

Question 10

Differences between companies:

Why Current Sources matter

Answer 10

Multiple current sources allow unique sound processing strategies

Question 11

Differences between companies:

Stimulation Phase Inversion

Answer 11

AB HiRes BES: Yes
COH’s Nucelus Freedom System: No
COH’s Nucleus 5 System: No
Med-El’s Maestro System: No

Question 12

Differences between companies:

Why Stimulation Phase Inversion Matters

Answer 12

Stimulation phase inversion allows unique stimulation patterns intended to provide improved tonal clarity

Question 13

Differences between companies:

Sound Coding Strategies

Answer 13

AB HiRes BES: ClearVoice, HiRes 120-S, HiRes 120-P, HiRes-S, HiRes-P, CIS, MPS
COH’s Nucelus Freedom System: ACE, CIS, SPEAK
COH’s Nucleus 5 System: ACE
Med-El’s Maestro System: FSP, HP-CIS

Question 14

Differences between companies:

Why sound coding strategies matter

Answer 14

Every ear is different, so the more sound strategies offered, the more options you have for hearing your best.

Question 15

Differences between companies:

Natural Mic Placement

Answer 15

AB HiRes BES: Yes
COH’s Nucelus Freedom System: No
COH’s Nucleus 5 System: No
Med-El’s Maestro System: No

Question 16

Differences Between companies:

Why Natural Mic Placement matters

Answer 16

With AB’s T-Mic, connect to audio devices like normal-hearing people do; enjoy natural, focused listening.

Question 17

Differences between companies:

Case Impact Resistance

Answer 17

AB HiRes BES: Up to 6 joules
COH’s Nucelus Freedom System: Up to 1 joule
COH’s Nucleus 5 System: Up to 2.5 joules
Med-El’s Maestro System: data not available

Question 18

Differences between companies:

Why Case Impact Resistance matters

Answer 18

The more joules your CI can resist, the more impact it can take without affecting performance. From flying soccer balls to falling off a bike, you can have peace of mind knowing that AB implants are Built Kid Tough.

Question 19

Differences between companies:

Swimmable Technology

Answer 19

AB HiRes BES: Yes
COH’s Nucelus Freedom System: No
COH’s Nucleus 5 System: No
Med-El’s Maestro System: No

Question 20

Differences between companies:

Why Swimmable Technology matters

Answer 20

Only AB offers Neptune, the world’s first and only waterproof, swimmable sound processor.

Question 21

Med-El’s main objective

Answer 21

convince industry that deep electrode insertion provides low frequency emphasis that can be beneficial for music and tonal languages