Meet Nihal Mirpuri

Most people believe that hearing gets worse with age, but not Nihal Mirpuri. After a recent upgrade to the Nucleus® Freedom^TM speech processor, this active 16 year old is hearing more than ever before. Now with implants in both ears, Nihal tells us how his hearing just keeps getting better.

"When I was 2 ½, I became the first child in Singapore to get a cochlear implant. It came with the Spectra speech processor and, over the years, I've tried the ESPrit^TM 22 and ESPrit^TM 3G. However, it was not until I tried the Freedom that I finally found a processor that let me say 'goodbye' to my Spectra.

The Freedom microphones make sounds much clearer and louder. My tone and pitch discrimination have improved so much I can now distinguish half-steps on a piano. I am the first trumpeter in our school jazz band, and my playing has improved by leaps and bounds.

Most importantly, I can pick out speech from background noise much better. That's been the biggest improvement. Freedom makes my life so much easier!

Now that we've moved to Indonesia, I am finding the water-resistant Freedom copes with the humidity better too. This has been a huge help. My mother used to get so frustrated because the Spectra microphones would start going down after three months. She could tell because I would start slurring. When I used to play badminton or tennis, I could only play for 30 minutes with a headband to prevent sweat from getting into the microphone. Now, I can play for hours on end.

Initially, I didn't really like the idea of upgrading to another new device, but the Freedom has delivered a huge leap from the Spectra, ESPrit, or ESPrit 3G. It's packed with features and has four different hearing programs to choose from.

My friends and family are constantly commenting on how much clearer I sound now. So others who are considering upgrading may see improvements in their hearing and voice quality too"