When we met with the surgeon Monday morning, he asked us whether we wanted Lucas to be implanted with the N5 (sticking with the same company as the old ear), or whether we wanted an AB (different company) implant in his left. We joked about it for a few minutes, thinking that it would be silly to have two different devices, but he told us that some people seriously do have one ear from each company.
I thought about it for a moment (and really just a moment), thinking about the possibilities of having the benefits of both devices. Advanced Bionics implants are advertised as giving increased musical benefit to recipients, which I see as a big drawing point. We originally chose Cochlear, mostly because of the versatility of the babyworn processor to go easily between being clipped to the body and being worn completely behind the ear. We've been pleased with our decision, but I'm sure we would have been happy the other way around too.
On Monday, we decided to stick with status quo, as I've been dreaming of the Nucleus 5 device ever since it was released. I also am a big fan of symmetry. Having 2 different external processors brings more attention to his ears, in my opinion.
Well, I believe we made a good decision. The day after Lucas's surgery, AB voluntarily recalled their HiRes 90K implant, and retrieved all unimplanted devices in distribution. We would have missed the recall by a day. Apparently there have been 2 reports of recipients experiencing severe pain, overly loud sounds and/or shocking sensations at 8-10 days after initial activation. You can read the press release here. This may have caused Lucas to be explanted. I'm not sure what they would have recommended, but I'm very thankful that I don't have to deal with another element of stress in this whole process.
I've heard many, many good things about this company, and I sincerely hope that the problem gets solved soon, for both the company and the recipients.