Dr. Daniels Visit

We had our appointment with Dr. Daniels this past Tuesday! We did a lot of the usual--review her history, talk about implant devices, and check her ears for fluid. She has had fluid in her ears for a couple of weeks now, so she isn't hearing a whole lot with her hearing aids right now. We have an appointment set for January 4 for Ellie to get tubes put in. Dr. Daniels said we could wait and see if the fluid clears up, but even if it does clear up in time for her cochlear implants surgery on Feb. 10, the fluid could build up again after surgery and cause problems. So I told him we should just do it and avoid all the worry of canceling her cochlear implants surgery. She also will be having an MRI on January 18 to make sure her cochleas are looking good and ready to receive implants.

Dr. Daniels also gave us more information on the different types of cochlear implant devices. We were originally thinking we would go with the Nucleus 5 (from Cochlear Corp), which just came out in September (I think that was the month). It is a lot smaller than any other device, and it has a remote control to use for switching programs. But, Dr. Daniels told us that the customer service for Cochlear Corp. is not that great at all and can be very frustrating at times to deal with. He also said that the external devices tend to break a little bit more often. The other option we have would be to go with Advanced Bionics. He said they have outstanding customer service and they care more about people, rather than only being completely business-minded. The Advanced Bionics device also has a higher capability to hear music better, whereas Cochlear Corp. focuses more on speech. I asked Dr. Daniels what he would implant into his child and he said he honestly couldn't answer that because Cochlear Corp. just came out with the Nucleus 5 and he is very impressed with the small size of it and the remote control that comes with it. Before the Nucleus 5, he said he would do Advanced Bionics without hesitation. So, needless to say, we have a lot to think about again in making our final decision. We'll keep you posted!

I hope you all have a MERRY CHRISTMAS!