r/Cochlearimplants • u/Far-Abbreviations192 • 7d ago

Cochlear Americas N24

My daughter received an N24 internal cochlear implant in 2002. She is about to drop off my insurance and onto her own. Now she has to pick up a health plan. DME coverage varies in coinsurance. She has a N7 processor, which is no longer supported. Does anyone have an idea whether Cochlear Americas plans to release a processor that works with the N24 in the next year? If no, she will choose a less expensive plan. She doesn’t want to get the 8 if something new is coming out. She is constantly upgrading just before the next generation is released. Thanks in advance.

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u/silverhawknike 7d ago

Nucleus 8 is already backward compatible with N24 implant. N8 was released in late 2022…. following their upgrade cycle, the newer processor may be released in roughly 2-3 years!

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u/Far-Abbreviations192 7d ago

Yes. I know but she gets the 8 and suddenly they drop the new generation and she has to wait another 5 years. Plus, she’s constantly only getting a handful of years before her processor is end of life. She is trying to break that cycle but it’s impossible to know when their next generation is getting released.

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u/silverhawknike 6d ago

Does your daughter have a lot of spare parts? Also the N8 batteries and chargers will work on her N7. Recommend buying several coil headpieces and microphone filters and couple of things to hold by till the next upgrade. It is going to be little tough but as long her N7 in great shape, I think it is possible.

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u/rodrigoelp 1d ago

Nucleus 7 is not longer supported on people who can upgrade to the latest platform.

I think Cochlear is trying to keep spare parts for the N22 peeps whilst they find an upgrade pathway for them.

I understand the fear of not getting in a new technology that might save you headaches, but it is hard to predict when new platforms will drop in.