Cochlear Implants
by Cochlear Guest Author

Bimodal benefits: help your patients hear their best in both ears

November 25, 2019
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By Natasha McDougald, Product Manager – Bimodal and Hybrid Hearing

A recent US Multicenter Study demonstrated the hearing performance and quality of life benefits with respect to a bimodal solution.  The study’s implications show that a cochlear implant and hearing aid could work together to give your patients a more natural hearing experience and should be considered within your clinic.

US Multicenter Study Results1

Results from the recent study demonstrated that speech perception significantly improved in both quiet and noise six months after activation in the bimodal condition, including on the telephone.1,2 Additionally, patients reported dramatic changes in their satisfaction with their hearing performance, with 9% reporting satisfaction with their bilateral hearing aid hearing performance, changing to 95% reporting satisfaction with their hearing performance using their bimodal solution.1

Bimodal Benefits

Benefits of a bimodal hearing system include:

  • Greater clarity and improved speech understanding, especially in noise3,4,5,6,7
  • Better determination of where sounds are coming from: localization3
  • Better sound appreciation so your patients can enjoy their favorite music6

The Cochlear™ Nucleus® Implant Systems work with any hearing aid to deliver these life-changing benefits of bimodal hearing. However, the most advanced smart bimodal hearing solution is the result of the partnership between Cochlear and ReSound to enable bimodal users to connect to the people they love and the world around them.

Expanded Connectivity

For the first time, if your patients have a Nucleus® 7 Sound Processor and a compatible ReSound hearing aid, they can stream sound directly to both ears at once from a compatible Apple® or Android™ device.*

With this unique smart bimodal hearing solution, Nucleus 7 recipients using a compatible smartphone can:

  • Connect with others on the phone
  • Rediscover the joy of music
  • Easily control their device settings
  • Use the Nucleus Smart App to find a lost sound processor functionality

To learn more about bimodal benefits please visit our website.

References:

  1. Clinical Evaluation of the Cochlear Nucleus CI532 Cochlear Implants in Adults Investigator Meeting. 2019 Apr.
  2. Wolfe J, Morais M, Schafer Erin. Speech recognition of bimodal cochlear implant recipients using a wireless audio streaming accessory for the telephone. Otol Neurotol. 2016 Feb;37(2):e20-5.
  3. Dorman MF, Gifford RH, Spahr AJ, McKarns SA. The benefits of combining acoustic and electric stimulation for the recognition of speech, voice and melodies. Audiology and Neurotology. 2008;13(2):105-12
  4. Potts LG, Skinner MW, Litovsky RA, Strube MJ, Kuk F. Recognition and localization of speech by adult cochlear implant recipients wearing a digital hearing aid in the nonimplanted ear (bimodal hearing). Journal of the American Academy of Audiology. 2009 Jun 1;20(6):353-73.
  5. Gottermeier L, De Filippo C, Clark C. Trials of a Contralateral Hearing Aid After Long-Term Unilateral Cochlear Implant Use in Early-Onset Deafness. American journal of audiology. 2016 Jun 1;25(2):85-99.
  6. Sucher CM, McDermott HJ. Bimodal stimulation: benefits for music perception and sound quality. Cochlear Implants International. 2009 Jan 1;10(S1):96-9.
  7. Gifford RH, Dorman MF, McKarns SA, Spahr AJ. Combined electric and contralateral acoustic hearing: Word and sentence recognition with bimodal hearing. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research. 2007 Aug 1;50(4):835-43.

* The Nucleus 7 Sound Processor is compatible with iPhone 7 Plus, iPhone 7, iPhone 6s Plus, iPhone 6s, iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 6, iPhone SE, iPhone 5s, iPhone 5c, iPhone 5, iPad Pro (12.9-inch), iPad Pro (9.7-inch), iPad Air 2, iPad Air, iPad mini 4, iPad mini 3, iPad mini 2, iPad mini, iPad (4th generation) and iPod touch (6th generation) using iOS 10.0 or later. The Nucleus Smart App is compatible with iPhone 5 (or later) and iPod 6th generation devices (or later) running iOS 10.0 or later. Apple, the Apple logo, FaceTime, Made for iPad logo, Made for iPhone logo, Made for iPod logo, iPhone, iPad Pro, iPad Air, iPad mini, iPad and iPod touch are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. App Store is a service mark of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. Information accurate as of July 2017.

**With compatible ReSound hearing aids. A list of compatible hearing aids is available online at: www.Cochlear.com/US/Nucleus7Compatibility.

The Cochlear Nucleus 7 Sound Processor is compatible with iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. Apple, the Apple logo, FaceTime, Made for iPad logo, Made for iPhone logo, Made for iPod logo, iPhone, iPad Pro, iPad Air, iPad mini, iPad and iPod touch are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries.

App Store is a service mark of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries.

Android and Google Play are registered trademarks of Google Inc.

The Android robot is reproduced or modified from work created and shared by Google and used according to terms described in the Creative Commons 3.0 Attribution License.

The Cochlear Nucleus Smart App is available on App Store and Google Play. For complete smartphone compatibility information, please visit www.cochlear.com/compatibility.

Author

Cochlear Guest Author

In an effort to keep our content fresh and reflective of a diverse industry, Cochlear Americas features a mix of employees and professional partners to contribute to Cochlear ProNews as Guest Authors.

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girl using made for iphone in class

Clinical Quick Tips: Made for iPhone (MFi) and Cochlear™ True Wireless™

September 20, 2018

Clinical Quick Tips

By guest author: Natasha McDougald

Natasha

 

 

Cochlear’s Baha® 5 Sound Processor portfolio and Nucleus® 7 Sound Processor were the first sound processors to integrate Made for iPhone (MFi) technology.  This allows recipients to stream phone calls, music and media directly from their compatible Apple® device to their sound processor.

Cochlear Sound Processors Capable of MFi:

  • Cochlear Baha 5 Sound Processor Portfolio
  • Cochlear Nucleus 7 Sound Processor

True Wireless™ allows streaming from a wireless accessory directly to a patient’s sound processor.  True Wireless streaming enables patients to hear their best in noisy listening environments when using the Mini Microphone.1,2

Cochlear sound processors that are capable of True Wireless are:

  • Cochlear Baha 5 Sound Processor Portfolio
  • Cochlear Nucleus 7 Sound Processor
  • Cochlear Kanso® Sound Processor
  • Cochlear Nucleus® 6 Sound Processors

About our guest author:

Natasha has worked at Cochlear Americas for almost 7 years partnering with clinicians and surgeons at the University of Miami, UCSF, Stanford, UC Davis and UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital of Oakland to bring cochlear implants to pediatric and adult patients.  Extremely passionate, Natasha is professionally and personally invested in the implantable hearing industry and strives to forward the cause of those affected by hearing loss.  She has presented numerous talks and courses on hearing loss, multiple disabilities, advocating skills and cochlear implantation to audiences in the medical-technology, educational, special needs and family support sectors.

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  1. Wolfe J, Morais M, Schafer E. Improving hearing performance for cochlear implant recipients with use of a digital, wireless, remote-microphone, audio-streaming accessory. J Am Acad Audiol. 2015 Jun;26(6):532-9.
  2. Hoffmann J, Andersson J, Agat T, Hedin A, Flynn MC. Hearing benefits of the Cochlear™ Wireless Mini Microphone for Cochlear Baha 4 Sound Processors. Sweden: Cochlear Bone Anchored Solutions; 2014. E83101.

The Cochlear Nucleus 7 Sound Processor is compatible with iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. For compatibility information visit www.cochlear.com/compatibility

The Cochlear Nucleus Smart App is available on App Store and Google Play. For compatibility information visit www.cochlear.com/compatibility

©2018. Apple, the Apple logo, FaceTime, Made for iPad logo, Made for iPhone logo, Made for iPod logo, iPhone, iPad Pro, iPad Air, iPad mini, iPad and iPod touch are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. App Store is a service mark of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries.

Cochlear Clinical Quick Tip: Optimizing Your Kanso® Fittings

June 28, 2017

Since its launch in October 2016, the Cochlear™ Nucleus® Kanso® (CP950) sound processor has provided recipients a smart, simple and discreet off-the-ear wearing solution with the robust features and the uncompromised hearing performance of our Nucleus 6 BTE processors (CP910 & CP920).

Kanso features dual-microphone technology and Cochlear’s SmartSound® iQ preprocessing suite to improve hearing in all listening environments, as well as our True Wireless™ technology to allow simple yet powerful connection to a variety of speakers and sound sources.  To maximize Kanso performance, the following reminders about power optimization and optimal battery use are provided for clinicians to use for recipient programming and counseling.

________________________________________________________________________________________________

Power Optimization

Power optimization is a crucial step in the programming of Kanso recipients and should be performed at each appointment – or whenever MAPs are loaded onto the processor.  This process takes skin flap thickness, impedances and MAP parameters (rate, T/C levels, maxima) into account to ensure that all channels are within compliance for each MAP.  More practically for recipients, power optimization maximizes battery life for each program and provides an estimation of their expected minimum battery life.

Power optimization must be done with the Kanso on the recipient’s head during the ‘Write to Maps’ process in Custom Sound® 4.4 to ensure accurate measurement of their power needs.  If this is not done, MAPs will be written with a default 100% manual power level; this is different than for CP910/920, CP810 and Nucleus® Freedom® processors, which default to 75% power level.

 

Not optimizing power level will result in significantly-reduced battery life and potential intermittencies, and no estimation of minimum expected battery life will be calculated.

Once the MAPs have been successfully downloaded to the Kanso® while on the recipient’s head, battery suitability and an estimation of expected battery life will be provided by Custom Sound®.

Click on the icon above to see battery life estimate.

Use of Recommended Batteries

It is vitally important to use appropriate batteries with the Kanso.  The Kanso sound processor utilizes two high-power 675 (PR44) zinc air disposable batteries designed for cochlear implant use.  These batteries have additional capacity to allow for the higher power requirements needed to maintain the RF link between the Kanso and the implant.  Use of standard 675 hearing aid batteries will lead to vastly reduced battery life, intermittencies, or potentially an inability to power on the Kanso for more than a few seconds.

 

Dave Catlett, Au.D., CCC-A, FAAA, Regional Clinical Training Manager

Dave Catlett is a Regional Clinical Training Manager for Cochlear Americas covering the Southeast and Atlantic regions.  In this role, he provides clinical training and mentorship for Cochlear field staff as well as developing and presenting clinical trainings for Cochlear’s professional partners.  He earned his Masters in Audiology at UNC Chapel Hill and his Au.D through the University of Florida.  Prior to joining Cochlear in 2005, David spent several years as a clinical audiologist at UNC’s pediatric cochlear implant program.

 

 

 

 

©Cochlear Limited 2017. All rights reserved. Hear now. And always and other trademarks and registered trademarks are the property of Cochlear Limited or Cochlear Bone Anchored Solutions AB. The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.

The Kanso™ Sound Processor is water resistant to level IP54 of the International Standard IEC60529. The Kanso Sound Processor with the Aqua+ is water resistant to level IP68 of the International Standard when used with LR44 alkaline or nickel metal hydride disposable batteries.
SNR-WR, WNR and SCAN are approved for use with any recipient ages 6 years and older, who is able to: 1) complete objective speech perception testing in quiet and in noise in order to determine and document performance: and 2) report a preference for different program settings.

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©Cochlear Limited 2024. All rights reserved. ACE, Advance Off-Stylet, AOS, Ardium, AutoNRT, Autosensitivity, Baha, Baha SoftWear, BCDrive, Beam, Bring Back the Beat, Button, Carina, Cochlear, 科利耳, コクレア, 코클리어, Cochlear SoftWear, Contour, コントゥア, Contour Advance, Custom Sound, DermaLock, Freedom, Hear now. And always, Hugfit, Human Design, Hybrid, Invisible Hearing, Kanso, LowPro, MET, MP3000, myCochlear, mySmartSound, NRT, Nucleus, Osia, Outcome Focused Fitting, Off-Stylet, Piezo Power, Profile, Slimline, SmartSound, Softip, SoundArc, True Wireless, the elliptical logo, Vistafix, Whisper, WindShield and Xidium are either trademarks or registered trademarks of the Cochlear group of companies. The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.

 

This material is intended for health professionals. If you are a consumer, please seek advice from your health professional about treatments for hearing loss. Outcomes may vary, and your health professional will advise you about the factors which could affect your outcome. Always read the instructions for use. Not all products are available in all countries. Please contact your local Cochlear representative for product information.

 

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