Choose Future
Choose the right foundation for your child's hearing journey.
Choose a cochlear implant system that's built for now—and for their future.
Reach Out to a Cochlear Implant Expert
Specially trained hearing experts are ready to answer your questions about cochlear implants, from costs to surgery and everything in between. It’s discreet, personal, and obligation-free. Fill out the form and we’ll put you in touch.
Built for Now. Ready for the Future.
When you choose a cochlear implant system for your child, you're choosing the foundation of everything they'll hear during their formative years. That means you need a cochlear implant that gives them the best possible start and will also allow them to take advantage of future advances in hearing technology.
MED-EL CI: Stimulates the Whole Cochlea
Gives access to the full range of sounds.
Other Brands: Only Stimulate the First Part
Can't stimulate low pitches at their natural location.
The Full Range of Sound
Only MED EL implants are designed to stimulate the entire cochlea. This means your child can hear the full range of sounds right from the start. When you choose MED-EL, you're giving them the foundation for speech, language, and learning.
Future-Ready With Firmware Updates
And because we're dedicated to helping your child hear their best throughout their lifetime, our implant system is easy to upgrade—all they’ll need is a simple firmware upgrade to their audio processor. That means your child can enjoy future technology with today's implant.
A Lifetime of Better Hearing With MED-EL
Your child deserves the latest hearing innovations and features. When we create new technology, we make sure it’s compatible with earlier implants so that everyone can benefit.
Our cochlear implant system makes upgrades simple, whether it's with the latest audio processor or a quick firmware update via a mobile app.
If your child loses or breaks their audio processor, you can quickly set up a new one at home. Our app saves their settings to the cloud, so there’s less hearing downtime.
Experiences From MED-EL CI Users
Karam, Lara, and Jordan all got cochlear implants as children. Today, they are living life to the fullest.
"Getting a CI was worth it. MED-EL has given me back so much of my social life and musical appreciation, getting my confidence back up in noisy environments and continuing as a music teacher has been the best part of my CI experience.”
Eileen, Musician & Music Teacher
“Hearing challenges should never limit you. Where there is a will, there is a way. I have always done everything I wanted to do, no different than it would have been if I had been hearing without this assisted technology.”
Falon, Implanted age 2, Team Canada, Volleyball player
“My cochlear implants have given me more than just access to sound - they’ve given me confidence in social situations and the independence to navigate the world on my own terms. One of the most rewarding moments has been experiencing how well I can hear in noisy environments, especially with the latest CI technology. It makes me hopeful and excited for what future advancements will bring.”
Serena, Implanted age 5
Frequently Asked Questions
Cochlear implants are medical devices that help people with severe-to-profound deafness hear. They work by sending sounds past the damaged part of the inner ear. You can find a more detailed explanation here.
Other cochlear implants only stimulate just over half of the cochlea. This means that they miss out on the full natural range of pitches. This can result in distorted, unnatural sounds that some cochlear implant recipients describe as “tinny.”
But our cochlear implants are unique. They cover the whole cochlea. This makes both low and high pitches more natural sounding. And if sounds are more natural, your child will find it easier to recognize words [ft] [ft], whether you’re reading to them at home or they are listening to their teacher. It can also help them enjoy music more—in fact, many MED-EL recipients are musicians themselves! It’s the result of our closest to natural hearing design philosophy.
The closer a cochlear implant can bring your child to natural hearing, the richer and fuller their hearing experience will be. It also helps with enjoying music, understanding speech in noisy environments, and knowing where sounds are coming from.
Only MED-EL’s cochlear implants are designed to offer closest to natural hearing. Find out more about how we do this.
Yes! Our electrodes are gentle on the cochlea and proven to enable hearing preservation. This gives your child the potential to benefit from future hearing technologies.
In fact, MED-EL’s FLEX electrodes are the only cochlear implant electrode arrays that are designed to enable hearing preservation, with US FDA approval. This unique design enables a majority of MED-EL recipients to retain some level of natural hearing after implantation.
In addition, when we create new technology like audio processors or fitting software, we make sure it’s compatible with earlier implants so that everyone can benefit. And our commitment to innovation and continuous improvements means that we regularly bring out upgraded devices. You and your family can count on us for a lifetime of better hearing.
We’re always pushing technology forward to make sure that our cochlear implant users can experience their best possible hearing. Recent innovations include:
- Convenient remote fittings anywhere you want with the HearCare app
- Robot-assisted surgery for more precision and better hearing outcomes*
- Anatomy-based fitting for an individualized hearing experience
The majority of children with cochlear implants attend mainstream school. Early access to sound through a CI gives your child the best chance to reach speech and language milestones and keep up with their classmates.
MED-EL’s cochlear implants support children in school by stimulating the whole cochlea. This helps their speech perception, even in noisy environments like classrooms [ft] [ft]. Plus, direct Bluetooth® connectivity and batteries that last all day long help children during school.
Cochlear implants are designed to last for at least a decade. In fact, many people who received their CI in the nineties are still using the same one today, albeit with cutting-edge audio processors like SONNET 3. MED-EL’s cochlear implants are built to last—we have a reliability performance that no other CI manufacturer has achieved. Check out the data here.
The initial expenses for the surgery and associated external equipment are typically covered by the health care programs of each province and territory for Canadian residents. To find out more, get in touch with one of our hearing experts by filling in this form.
Cochlear implant surgery is a straightforward, routine procedure that has been done for more than 30 years. It’s performed under general anesthetic so your child will be asleep and not feel any pain during the surgery. It usually lasts 1-2 hours.
Recovery time varies, but you can usually expect your child to be back at school or daycare within a week. Once their implant is activated your child will be able to hear sound through their CIs for the first time.
If you think a cochlear implant could be a solution for your child, get in touch with one of our hearing experts through this form. They can give you more information and guide you and your family through the whole cochlear implant journey.
Your child’s hearing journey has endless possibilities, so we used AI to generate an example image of what their future could look like. But to read real stories from MED-EL cochlear implant users, check out the stories above, or take a look at our blog and video library. MED-EL does not use AI to generate user testimonials. We always label any content created using AI.
The Bluetooth® word mark and logos are registered trademarks owned by the Bluetooth SIG, Inc. and any use of such marks by MED-EL is under license.
*Robot-assisted surgery is possible using OTODRIVE. CASCINATION AG is the legal manufacturer of OTODRIVE. MED-EL is the exclusive distributor of OTODRIVE.