Advanced Bionics Naida Q90 Cochlear Implant Review

Advanced Bionics is one of a few cochlear implant manufacturers.  They are owned by Sonova who also owns Phonak and Unitron.  Sonova really knows how to treat hearing loss and it shows in their cochlear implants.

Here are 5 things that make the Naida Q90 cochlear implant unique:

1. They have 4 micrphones on their processors - They have the traditional front and back microphones like traditional hearing aids, but they also have a headpiece mic and what is called a T-Mic.  The T-Mic was originally designed to be used for the phone because it sits directly over your ear canal, but Advanced Bionics soon realized that it was beneficial in other situations.  Because it uses the pinna effect, it helps you perform better in a background noise situation.  

2. The Naida Link - Cochlear implants work better when the user has a hearing aid on the non-implanted ear.  Advanced Bionics takes it a step further by linking their partner hearing aid to the Cochlear Implant.  This improves the ability of both devices because they can share information back and forth.  

3. The CROS Transmitter - Not only does the Naida have a compatible hearing aid, it also has a compatible CROS.  If your non-implanted ear doesn't hear well, you could just take the sound on that side of your head and transfer it to your Cochlear Implant side.  This will remove the "Head Shadow Effect" and allow you to hear sounds on your non-implanted side much better.

4. Current Steering Technology - The Electrode array that is implanted inside of your cochlea has 16 electrodes to stimulate the auditory nerve.  However, because each electrode can be given a different amount of power,  the Naida Q90 can provide 120 phantom electrodes to stimulate the auditory nerve more precisely.  And as you know, when it comes to hearing, precision is everything.

5. It is Upgradable - The implanted portion of your Cochlear Implant shouldn't be removed and replaced unless absolutely necessary.  Fortunately, it doesn't have to because only 30% of the chip inside of the implant is being utilized so future firmware and software upgrades shouldn't be a problem.  

Overall, the Advanced Bionics Naida Q90 has some pretty impressive features.  If you are interested in learning more about the process of being implanted, make sure you check out my other video: https://youtu.be/FjmnAM0g87E