Nucleus® Freedom Hearing Performance with Nucleus® 22 Recipients

The Freedomô sound processor is available for use with the first generation NucleusÆ 22 (N22) cochlear implant. Thirty-one recipients with an N22 implant were tested using the Freedom for N22 processor compared to their existing N22 processor. Significant improvements in speech perception were observed for soft and conversational level speech in quiet. The Freedom for N22 provided equivalent performance for speech perception in noise. Many of the recipients preferred to use a MAP with a SmartSoundô technology for listening in noisy and quiet situations. Overall, recipients expressed a high level of satisfaction for the sound performance and usability of the Freedom processor. They remarked that they could hear more with this processor and liked the flexibility of the Freedom in terms of additional battery options and being able to use the processor with confidence around water. This processor upgrade also allowed recipients who could only use a Spectra bodyworn processor previously, to upgrade to an ear level processor for the very first time.