Warning To Cochlear Implant Users

VIDEO [CC] - The storytelling of the cochlear implant system failures for the users.



If you travel consider which company you use. Your dreams could be destroyed. Caution I am making this video because some of you may be considering a Cochlear Implant for yourself or a child. As a Cochlear Implant Recipient, I think the following video is important for you to watch before making a decision on which implant to receive.

Bear with me as I give you a A brief history of my hearing loss. Born hearing and after a case of the measles when I was 10, I developed a progressive hearing loss which left profoundly deaf by the age of 20 I used sign language interpreters in college and at work. A TTY and other assistive listening devices. Eventually my aduilogist said nothing more can help there was no residual hearing left and I should consider a cochlear implant. I began the process of searching and selected Nucleus 24. The reason I went with this company was because of the World Wide Service they could provide. My surgery went fine, and I was activated and after three months of aural rehabilitation I was able to use the telephone. After 1 year my life was completely changed.



Sounds good so far huh? Here is the catch. Got my dream job working 10 months a year in Spain. Everything was going well until my Freedom Processor conked out. When you are traveling in a another country, you cannot access the Cochlear Store USA. I went to have my Freedom repaired locally here in Spain. GUESS WHAT. If you were not implanted in Spain, they say they cannot help you. OK GOT IT I can't get help here. I will buy a new processor from the USA and have it shipped to Spain. Again, my audiologist coordinated everything maped it and shipped it to me in Spain. IT WAS STOPPED in Madrid by customs,,,, why? Because only one company in Spain can provide a processor. It gets even more interesting. I asked how much a processor was to buy in Spain. I was told 11,000 USD. However from the USD it was only 6,000 USD. The company in Spain suggested I fly to the United States if I wanted service.



It has been over a month since I have had a processor that will allow me to do the work that I have dreamed of doing. Consider if you ever wanted to travel, or maybe your child might want to be a foreign exchange student ,, think of all the dreams and possibilities that could suddenly be taken away from you. I am at a point now where I am about to lose everything I have worked so hard to achieve. Don't let this happen to your child or loved one.