It's been 9 years since my left CI was activated. It was fun, looking through my facebook memories of all the posts I made regarding the activation process, and thinking of how long it's been since this day. I still cannot believe that I can actually hear with my left cochlear implant, and even be able to understand some speech.
I thought, with my 9 year ear-versary, I would finally make a fresh post for this blog. I have finally acquired one brand new Marvel Sky cochlear implant processor! Yes, just one. I am still waiting to receive the left ear processor, since silly me, I decided to order 2 different colors. I thought it would be fun to do red for right, and blue for left. Unfortunately, Advanced Bionics didn't have the Ocean Blue color in stock when they shipped out half of my order. My insurance authorization for my upgrades was expiring on March 31, so in order to come up with a resolution, my Cochlear Implant Consumer Specialist requested that AB send me my right upgrade kit, and a Naida Q90 processor to hold on to, until the Ocean Blue is available for shipping. Ever since the brand new Marvel line was officially released from Advanced Bionics, AB headquarters has been slammed with orders for upgrades and new orders. And with Covid still going on, the production process has been slower than normal. They are only making a small batch of a few different colors on different days, so the upgrade specialists do not always necessarily know what colors they will have available on certain days. It is indeed a very busy time for AB, trying to keep up with the demands.
While I am waiting for the Ocean Blue processor, I thought I would share the box opening process of my right ear kit, including the Lava Red processor. I will tell you this, I honestly felt like a little kid at Christmas time, diving into the AB box to unpack my new Marvel Sky processor. I took some pictures during the unpacking process, and did some comparisons between the Marvel Sky and one of my Naida Q70s.
 |
| I was so excited to come home to this package! |
 |
| Ok, let's dive in! |
 |
| The Marvels are being sent out in this new backpack! |
 |
| Because I ordered the Sky, instead of the M90 (the Sky is the pediatric friendly processor, as it has pediatric-friendly programs/features to use in schooling type of environments, and fun color choices!), I was also sent a Pediatric Kit, which contains a bimodal Leo plush, and a child's backpack with some stickers, Snuggies, and a retention cord. |
 |
| Here is the Cky CI box! |
 |
| My Marvel was packed into this box. |
 |
| This is a pretty nice case! |
 |
| Lava red! How gorgeous is this processor? I'm in love! |
 |
| Naida Q70 and the new Marvel Sky. T-mics and cables/headpieces have been redesigned. In fact, the new headpiece and cable are integrated, rather than being two separate pieces. |
 |
| The Sky stacked on top of my Q70. |
 |
| Side by side. The volume control button the Sky is also the program button; whereas on the Q70, the round white button is the program button. Interesting change. |
 |
| The brand new waterproof battery kit for aquatic/active activities, as compared to the AquaCase for the Q line. I was amazed at how teeny tiny the new waterproof battery is! Wow! |
 |
| One must remove the earhook/T-mic from the Marvel processor in order to use the waterproof battery kit. I'm ok with that, since I already tote around a waterproof box that I would stash my other Q70 and headpiece/cable into for safekeeping while using the AquaCase. I will just continue to use the box to keep the T-mics, Headpiece/cable, and batteries in while using the waterproof batteries. |
 |
| The PartnerMic. I thought this could come in handy if I'm out and about with a friend or my mom, and I would have them wear this to communicate with me, so that I could hear them better. But, from what I've heard of AB's new Autosense programming, I may not need the PartnerMic. But who knows, it'll be fun to try it out in different situations. |
 |
| Again, I was amazed at how tiny this thing is! |
 |
| The batteries. I ordered Mediums for my Skys, and pictured here is the 230 (large), and 170 mini (mini medium) for my Q70s. I've been hearing that the new Marvel batteries have improved battery life. |
 |
| The new Aquamic headpiece setup, with Caribbean Pirate color caps. I ordered Majestic Purple caps for my left ear Aqua kit. I just want all the fun colors! |
 |
| The different T-mics. |
 |
| Comparison of the Aquamics. The new one certainly is slimmer. |
 |
| Much slimmer! |
 |
And here is Leo with his pals, Buddy and Melody!
|
Another nice bonus to this new upgrade is that there is now a
remote control app that can be downloaded to phones! An actual remote control is an accessory option on the order form, should someone want to order one for his/her use. I'm really excited at being able to control my new Skys with the remote app! The new Marvels have Bluetooth built in, so one will be able to stream with any Bluetooth-ready devices. How exciting is that! I cannot wait to take advantage of the Bluetooth options with my new ears!
I absolutely cannot wait to get my left ear kit, with the Ocean Blue processor, another waterproof battery kit, and a TV Connect so I can listen to whatever's playing on my TV better! I also cannot wait to see my audiologist, hopefully before the month of April is over, to get the new Marvel Skys programmed so I can start using them! This is a very exciting time in the AB world!
