Cochlear Nucleus CI512 Implant Recall

Note:  Cochlear is one of the 3 CI companies (Cochlear, Med-El, and Advanced Bionics)

A few days ago Cochlear issued a voluntary recall regarding their Nucleus CI512 implant.

This is the implant I received in July but so far I haven’t had any issues with my implant.  *knocks on wood*  They are saying for those of us with this implant to continue to wear our processor as usual.

The reason for the recall is because they noticed a recent increase in the number of Nucleus CI512 implant failures even though the number of failures since 2009 is less than 1%.  In the meantime, those who choose to go with Cochlear will be implanted with the Freedom implant which is the one that my left ear has.

A CI failure is when the implant suddenly stops working (this is the part inside your head, not the external processor).

So far there haven’t been any failures reported with this implant at my CI center…am hoping that trend continues.

In the meantime, Advanced Bionics was given the okay by the FDA today to put their implant back on market (it was recalled earlier this year).

CI failures do happen regardless of which company you choose, who your surgeon is, who your audiologist is, and which implant you have.  I do try not to think about the possibility of one of my CIs failing.  It was one of my concerns when I went through the first surgery.  I do have moments when I forget how many days my CI battery has been running and my heart skips a beat when things go quiet….it’s not until I replace the battery that I take a breath of relief knowing it was the battery and not the implant.

For more information go to Cochlear’s voluntary recall notification statement:  http://www.cochlear.com/voluntary-recall-notification-nucleus-ci500-cochlear-implant-range