Freedom Obsolescence Process

The Freedom Processor by Cochlear Corp. is in the obsolescence process. I received an email from them explaining the process.

Jan 30, 2016 Dear Cochlear Family Member, Our promise of “Hear now. And always” means we strive to bring you improved sound processor technologies and services designed to help you hear moments that matter most to you.  Did you know the Cochlear™ Nucleus® Freedom® Sound Processor has been in the market for nearly eleven years?  This means that the sound processor is reaching its end of life; hence, we begin the obsolescence process. Our records indicate that you may currently use a Freedom Sound Processor. Please make note of the following milestones:  End of Sale – Effective immediately, the sound processor and associated service plans (extended warranties) are no longer available for purchase.  Aftermarket components and accessories such as coil/cables will remain available for purchase contingent upon supply levels until December 31, 2016. Warranties for new products purchased will end on December 31, 2016. Trade-In – Through June 30, 2016, Cochlear will give a $2,000 trade-in allowance for the Freedom Sound Processor when upgrading to the Nucleus 6 Sound Processor and using the self-pay option. Repair Services – Cochlear will continue to repair the sound processor through December 31, 2016. All repair warranties will end on December 31, 2016. End of Life – The sound processor is no longer supported after December 31, 2016. This means that if your Freedom Sound Processor stops working, Cochlear cannot repair it. Or if you lose a part or accessory, Cochlear cannot replace it.   Elijah currently has two Nucleus 6 Processors that are about 18 months old. He also has four Freedom processors that are not being used. I am going to call SunMed tomorrow and see if he can get two new Nucleus 6 processors since the Freedom processors are going obsolete. I figure it is worth a shot. He upgraded to the Freedom processors back in 2006 and then his body worn processors went obsolete about 2 years later and we were able to trade those in for two new Freedom processors. We shall see what happens.

Update on the Lost Freedom Processor

I have blogged about sending Elijah's Freedom Processors to Cochlear to be cleaned, when he got his N6 processors activated. We received one Freedom back after about four weeks and then we didn't get the second one. I called and as I blogged, received poor customer service. It took another three weeks to get the second Freedom processor back. We now have two sets of Freedom processors as back ups for Elijah. I had purchased a new two year warranty on his newest set of Freedoms in June 2013. I sent the paperwork in to cancel that warranty and get a partial refund, which will then go towards the portion of his N6s that we had to pay for. I am hoping that this warranty refund will be between $500-$1200, but you never know. We now have a new three year warranty on the new N6s that he received in June. It will take about four weeks for the refund to show on the credit card I used to charge it on last  year. Hopefully, there won't be any issues with this!

Customer Service

Elijah was first implanted back in September of 2001, which means I have been dealing with Cochlear Corporation for almost 13 years. He was first implanted with the body worn Sprint processer, then he upgraded to his Freedoms, and now has the Nucleus 6 processor. During these 13 years, I have had to call Cochlear on average of about 7-10 times a year. I have always gotten great customer service, until today.


When Elijah upgraded to the Nucleus 6, Cochlear Corporation offered a program where you could request to send your Freedom processor(s) back to them to be cleaned and to make sure they are in good working condition. I opted to do this, and when the N6 processors arrived there were two return boxes, one for each of his Freedoms processors. After his N6's were programmed, I boxed up his Freedoms, per the instructions and kept the tracking numbers. I then delivered them to a FedEx facility to be picked up.


I checked the FedEx website the next day and saw that both processors had been delivered. Last week, I received one of the processors back from Cochlear via FedEx. I decided to call today to make sure that they still had the other processor and try to get an estimate on when it will be returned to us. I want to cancel the extended warranty I purchased for these two Freedoms to get a partial refund to help pay for his N6 processors.


I called and a gentleman with customer service answered. I explained why I was calling and then he asked for my son's name. He then said, "You are trading in your freedom processors" and I said "no" and explained the return program and that this was offered by Cochlear. I asked him if he was aware of this program and he said he was. He then asked for my tracking number, so I gave him one. He then said, "what is this tracking number for?" I then explained the program (rather irately) again and WHY I had the tracking numbers and what they were for. I asked him again if he was aware of the program and he said he was, and then put me on hold. I waited for five minutes and then I called in again using my home phone, while still on hold with my cell phone.


A young lady answered the phone who was more familiar with this program. She asked me all of my questions, got the tracking number and one serial number for the processor I had received back. She then said that she showed they had received the other one, and would inquire on the other one but would need some time. She asked if she could call me back. I said she could then asked to speak to a supervisor, explaining that I was still on HOLD with this other gentleman who was clueless. While I was waiting for the supervisor, the gentleman, let's call him Dan, came back and I got his name and he really had no answer for me except that they had received both. He couldn't tell me if they still had the one there. I told him what I had done with my other phone and that I was waiting for a supervisor. He then said, "Well I was just going by what you told me." OH this irritated me even more. I then spoke to the supervisor and explained what had happened. I compared the two customer service reps and told her about the Dan's last comment. She stated she would pull the phone call and listen to it and apologized several times.


I told her this was the first time in 13 years that I had received such poor service. I am just so glad this didn't happen early on when Elijah was first implanted.

Nucleus 6 Turn On

Today was the day that Elijah's Nucleus 6 processors were turned on. It was a very good visit and Elijah cooperated very well. He sat and listened to the tones and identified the quietest tones and then it was quite obvious when the tones  were loud. He actually winced a few times, but thankfully did not get mad. Once it was all done, he sat and listened with both of his new processors. He liked it and said that they "felt good", meaning on his ears. The audiologist then showed us how to turn the telecoil on, and explained how to change programs. For now, he has only two programs, one new one and one from his Freedom processors. The audiologist also gave me a tutorial on the remote system. It is pretty cool, and will change settings on both processors at the same time!


Elijah quickly turned on the telecoil, plugged his music links into his iPad and started playing. The audiologist and I visited for a bit and reviewed a few things on the new processors. She wants to see him again before school starts and do a hearing test, so I set up that appointment for August. We left and took some pictures. For some reason, I cannot post pictures on this blog, but I will when whatever glitch gets fixed.


We arrived home and took out his colored covers and put a blue one on one ear and the orange on the other ear. The audiologist labeled his processors on the coil, with an R for right and an L for left. There really is no other way to label them. He will be using rechargeable batteries, so he won't be using SkinIts right now. I am thinking of ordering him a few more colors. I am hoping the Aqua+ Pack comes in soon, so he can wear it and swim with his processor!

Elijah's Nucleus 6 Processors Arrived Today!

I was quite surprised to hear my doorbell ring this morning. Elijah and I were getting ready to leave to go to the local rec center for his Lego Robotics Camp, when the doorbell rang. I opened the door to the FedEx man standing there with this HUGE Cochlear box. SunMed had said the processors would ship in 5-7 days, and today is only day 4. When I had talked to Cochlear they had said 6-8 weeks.

 

It also never fails that I miss anything that needs a signature from Cochlear. I always have to drive in to the FedEx office to pick up the shipment. I should have run out and bought a lottery ticket today! We had to rush off to the rec center so we didn't get to take a look at anything until we got home, 3 hours later.

 

We looked at all of the tiny little boxes in the two big boxes, and then left it all alone. I tried to snap the processor and battery together, but could not get them together. I decided to leave it alone, because there was probably something I was missing and I didn't want to break them!

 

I got an appointment for Elijah for Monday at 3:30! I am very excited for him. I will be sure to post pictures.  Here is a picture of him with the cool boxes his processors came in.