Unsurpassed hearing performance

Hearing in noise is the most challenging listening situation for any individual. And, most of our interactions take place with some level of noise all around us. At Cochlear we are committed to break new ground in hearing performance to enhance the listener’s hearing performance particularly in noise. Following in the footsteps of our previous generation Nucleus systems, Nucleus 5 is setting the next benchmark in cochlear implant hearing performance.

Dual microphone advantage

The Nucleus 5 Sound Processor features a unique dual microphone system that with intelligent processing is designed to lessen competing noise, making the sounds you want to hear clearer – similar to natural hearing. This allows in noisy settings to hear more of the conversation and join in with ease.

Sounds from in front arrive at MIC 1 first then at MIC 2 second. Sounds from the side arrive at MIC 1 and 2 at the same time. Sounds from behind arrive at MIC 2 first then at MIC 1 second.

The dual microphone technology has demonstrated improved hearing performance in global trials1, compared with the previous industry benchmark set by the Nucleus Freedom™ Sound Processor. In three separate and independent scientific studies2, Nucleus 5 recipients using dual microphones were able to manage twice as much background noise3 without any decrease in understanding – hearing almost as well as a normal hearing listener on difficult noise tests. Nucleus Systems remain the only cochlear implant systems on the market that deliver more than one type of directional capability.

Frequently asked questions

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Why is it important to have two microphones?
Why are all Cochlear implant manufacturers claiming to have the best performance?

Why is it important to have two microphones?

Normal hearing depends on sounds being captured through two ears in order to focus on sounds of interest and ignore the interrupting sounds. Similar to normal hearing, two microphones give the ability to focus on the person talking to you and ‘tune out’ from the noise. The Nucleus 5 sound processor is the only sound processor available to model this ability through the use of two microphones.

Why are all Cochlear implant manufacturers claiming to have the best performance?

Many studies promoted by other companies use Cochlear’s older generation systems such as the ESPrit 3G which was released over 10 years ago and is no longer available. Many studies do not let Cochlear recipients use the unique features such as dual microphone technology and digital signal processing to provide not just directionality, but a suite of directionality options, including: standard directional, zoom processing and Beam™, making their performance appear lower than it should be. Many of these studies are not peer reviewed. This means that scientific experts have not had the chance to question the study and its results. Cochlear adheres to strict standards and has the most peer reviewed, published research in the industry.

Nucleus System

Discover how the latest Nucleus System is designed to help you hear in the most natural way.

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References

  1. White paper: Cochlear Nucleus 5 delivering superior performance in noise, N34209F ISS1 Dec 2009
  2. Study A: Wolfe, J. 2010. Assessment of Performance of Cochlear Implant Recipients Upgrading to the Cochlear Nucleus 5 System. Presentation at the 11th International Conference on Cochlear Implants and other Implantable Auditory Technologies, Stockholm June/July 2010 Study B: Müller-Deile, J., Brademann, G., Hessel, H., Hey, M. 2010. Signal pre-processing Beam and Zoom can improve listening in noise with CP810 sound processor. Presentation at the 11th International Conference on Cochlear Implants and other Implantable Auditory Technologies, Stockholm June/July 2010. Study C: Dillier, N., Lai, W.K. 2010. Speech intelligibility in various noise conditions with the Nucleus 5 system sound processor. Presentation at the 11th International Conference on Cochlear Implants and other Implantable Auditory Technologies, Stockholm June/July 2010
  3. Average improvement in Speech Reception Threshold (SRT) was 10.5 dB. A 10 dB increase in SPL is perceived as a doubling in loudness/intensity (Bentley, S., Murphy, F., Dudley, H. 1977. Perceived noise in surgical wards and an intensive care area : an objective analysis. British Medical Journal, December 1977, 1503-1506)