New Marvel Processors by Advanced Bionics - Review

 It has been about 7 years since I received my first cochlear implant.  I chose Advanced Bionics in 2014 and received their Q70 processor at activation.  This was their first processor based on Phonak technology, since both companies are owned by Sonova.

The Q70 was a very good processor, and coupled with their HiRes Fidelity 120 programming strategy, I enjoyed good appreciation of music.  I use the Optima-P strategy in particular.  The processor was much smaller than the previous Harmony processor, and featured a much smaller, if fragile, t-mic2.  The t-mic is arguably the best feature offered by AB.  It is a microphone that hangs by a wire, and is positioned near the ear canal, allowing me to use headphones and mobile phones normally, by positioning the speaker where everyone else would hold it, instead of having to hold the speakers up near the top of the ear, where traditional mics are placed.

With the Q70, I was able to use Bluetooth devices, but that required a ComPilot--a small box that hangs around the neck.  It works, but it's obviously not ideal.

The Marvel is based on an entirely new technology platform being used by Phonak, and is even smaller and lighter than the Q70 processor.  The biggest feature here is....  BUILT IN BLUETOOTH!!!  I cannot begin to describe how amazing it is to walk around a store, or out in the neighborhood and listen to music directly from my phone.  The sound quality seems even higher than the Q70.  The other major improvement is AutoSense.  Whereas I used to need to switch into another program if I went from a quiet environment into a noisy restaurant, this is not all automatic, and works really well.  I used AutoSense my first time at a very noisy happy hour, and was very pleased with the result.  I was generally able to hear people better than all my Hearing friends, which is really impressive.

If you have insurance support, I strongly recommend replacing your aging Q70 or Q90 processors with the Marvel processor!

Happy Hearing Journey!

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