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| Why I Chose The Nucleus... | ||||||||||||||
| The first thing I had to do once I learned that I was a candidate for the Cochlear Implant was to decide which implant I wanted. This was one of the hardest decisions I ever had to make. I was so afraid of "choosing the wrong implant." The first thing I did was to research. I received pamphlets and a video tape from all three companies and also visited their web sites to learn all I could. This didn't help me a lot, because a lot of it was technical terms and I had no idea what they were talking about. I wanted to hear from people who actually had the implants. | ||||||||||||||
| My next step was to join different forums and meet people who had Nucleus, Clarion and Med-El implants. I learned really fast that there are some very opinionated people out there. LOL And of course, many who think their implant is better than the other brands. I joined the York Forum (ListServ) and became discouraged by all the "Brand Wars" on it. I also joined the Nucleus Forum and like it much better. Occasionally there would be someone who would make a negative comment about another brand, but it didn't happen very often. This happens daily on the York forum. I was only interested in what people had to say about "their" implant...not somebody elses. | ||||||||||||||
| My first instinct was to go with the Clarion because of the rechargeable batteries. Having worn 2 hearing aids for many years and buying batteries by the dozen...I was obviously thinking about how much money I would be spending each year. The day I was tested for candidacy, I actually told my audiologist that I pretty much wanted the Clarion (this was before any research.) She sent the materials of all three brands home with me and told me to look over it all before making my decision. She wouldn't tell me which one she thought was better. She said they basically all work the same and are all three great implants. It was more of a personal choice. She showed me all three implants and processors as well. | ||||||||||||||
| While I was researching, I was fortunate to meet many very nice people who are now my Internet Buddies. Most of them encouraged me to go with the brand they had because they obviously loved it and had a great experience with it. My new friends didn't tell me all the bad things about the other companies...only things they themselves had experienced. This is the type of advice I was looking for. I will have to say that everytime I saw a post from someone who was bashing another brand or person...that only discouraged me from getting the implant he/she had. I can say now that I have friends online who have the Nucleus, Clarion and Med-El implants. If any of you ever want information from someone with either of these implants, just email me and I will have them contact you. | ||||||||||||||
| I remember posting a comment on the York Forum about my preference based on the cosmetic look of each processor. I received an email from one individual who thought it was obsurd to base my decision on the appearance of the processor. This person is also the one who continually bashed the other companies. I thought maybe I was vain (that may be the word he used too) for thinking like that at first. But now that I think about it, I think that should be taken into consideration. After all, all three companies have wonderful implants & processors, and I believe you can not go wrong with either one. Thus, it becomes a personal choice and if you want to consider the cosmetic appearance that is fine. | ||||||||||||||
| My Comparisons | ||||||||||||||
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