Individual results may vary.

Barid, UK 

It has been a few days since my Esteem Implant was activated. These are early days but I can hear much better now. My family has felt the difference - they are not being asked to repeat the conversation. I am watching the tv using a lower volume and can hear more clearly. I may need a bit longer to get used to the phone, I guess.

I wish to reiterate how wonderful the services provided by [my surgeon] and his team, both clinical and admin, have been. Moreover, all of you at the Envoy Medical have been extremely helpful. I am sure that a device like Esteem will not take too long to prove its worth to those having hearing impairment.

I wish to thank you all again for making Esteem available to me.

Best wishes.

Doris, Germany

My hearing problems started 15 years ago and progressed gradually.

My difficulty hearing was really uncomfortable for me and even sometimes resulted in embarrassment, such as when I gave the wrong answers to questions and then realized by the looks on other’s faces that I had said something wrong.

My ear, nose and throat doctor recommended the Esteem® to me after repeated visits because I was not satisfied with my previous hearing aids. I almost always had problems with them. Especially in combination with moisture, I had problems with my ear canal. It was often inflamed, but that‘s a thing of the past with Esteem®. I am very happy with my decision.

I chose this path because I thought to myself, “I can only win, it can‘t get worse.”

And I did win.

I am a salesperson and therefore it is very important for me to be able to understand my customers again. It is now even possible to have telephone conversations. That was impossible before.

I am now aware of everything that is going on around me. Sounds I didn‘t hear are suddenly there. I have even noticed that those who hear normally, who do not wear a hearing aid, sometimes understand less than I do. I‘m very impressed.

Marc, Belgium

I was completely isolated for twenty years. Isolated in that I no longer even listened when there were several people at a table, the noise all around, I just could not understand what people were saying to me. So I had my own method; I would try to lead the discussion in order at least to know what everyone was talking about.

My problem was that I could hear but I could not follow. Unfortunately, however, I could not tolerate hearing aids. I was allergic to them. I could not get used to the hearing aids. After the [Esteem®] had been activated, everyone was looking at me: ‘So, you can hear now?’ And I said, ‘yes, but no need to shout like that!’

And another thing that people say about me, “you are an entirely new person, you are much calmer. And also your voice is much softer, and less agitated, less stressed than before.” I can listen and I can follow two conversations going on at the same time. Even in a place where there is quite a lot of background noise.

When you don’t have the device and you need a device like this, it is impossible to know what it will be like. You simply have to give it a try and then afterwards you say “thank goodness I did it!”

Before I listened and grasped what was going on in black and white. Now, with the Esteem®, everything is in color!

Mario, Italy

I discovered my problem at school, since during the dictation I could not follow the entire speech and missed some words. Moreover, I often felt dizzy. My father noticed it and took me to the doctor, who at the beginning thought that these inconveniences were due to an abuse of alcohol, but soon realized that they were hearing problems. I therefore started some cures, such as cronassan. It seemed that my conditions were improving, but they soon became worse.

I started using hearing aids, but initially I felt embarrassed. Moreover, I had to try three/four types since they did not ensure me good hearing and, in addition, caused frequent bad inflammations of the auditory canal. The external prosthesis had deprived me of the possibility to practice 90% of physical activities.

Now I am satisfied with the Esteem® for several reasons. Besides being more aesthetic, they enable me to hear well as they act directly on the inner part of the ear, and to feel physically more free. For example, I can take a shower, bicycle and practice sports. That’s why I recommend the use of the Esteem®. They avoid the embarrassment of having external prosthesis and give more freedom.

I can notice the progressive improvements also from the programming of the Esteem®: yesterday, for example, I passed from frequency six to seven. I only had some bothers at the beginning, but I am feeling well now. On the whole, the advantages of the Esteem® are many: I feel more autonomous, more free, less embarrassed. I feel more secure and peaceful when I go out with my camper as I can hear the warning device, whereas before having Esteem®, I was afraid of not hearing thieves.

Moreover, with Esteem® you are not obliged to take them off, to clean them continuously, and so on.

Thanks to these prosthesis I enjoy a more pleasant listening. I can hear better even in a crowded restaurant. They are much better also in terms of maintenance as the previous ones were always unloaded and required to charge batteries continuously.

Now I can hear, during the night, sounds that I could not hear before, such as fireworks or dogs barking, which sometimes even prevents me from sleeping.

Sylvie, France

I had enormous difficulty pointing out to people that I was hard of hearing. To say it, to ask people to repeat what they had said, things like that. It is true that sometimes I used my children and my husband as my intermediary and, if necessary, to repeat for me so that I did not have to say ‘excuse me I did not catch that’.

And now, that’s all over.

For people who are still active in their professional life, they shouldn’t hesitate; they should go for it and then get the most out of it because it really does make all the difference.

I am hoping to be a grandmother soon. I was a bit concerned that I wouldn’t be able to enjoy the first little gurgling sounds, that I wouldn’t hear a little one cry, call or anything and well now I shall be much more relaxed knowing that I really would be able to hear the baby if he called me.”

Anja, Germany

I have suffered from moderate hearing loss since I was in kindergarten and this was not determined for many years. When I was almost seven and about to enter school, I was fitted with hearing aids for the first time.

In the summer of 2004 I received the fully implanted Esteem® hearing implant at the Catholic Clinic Marienhof in Koblenz by Prof. Maurer and then heard a whole new world. I now have access to a previously unknown detailed world of hearing, which holds many pleasant surprises. I would have never thought that there would be so much more to hear than I previously did as ‘only moderately’ hard of hearing. This plethora of sounds, this enormous depth of detail, this exceptionally good understanding of language even with a lot of background noise.

Now I am able to have relaxed conversations in the swimming pool or in the car, communicate without problems with wet hair at the hair salon, hear work instructions across a big noisy office filled with the sound of loud air conditioners, ventilators, radio songs, traffic through open windows and permanently ringing telephones. I can even participate in longer discussions in this acoustically difficult environment.

With this system, I have experienced a previously unknown quality of hearing, so that I can hear the carbonation in drinks in my mouth and the sound of soap bubbles bursting.

Norbert, Germany

At least 15 years ago, I had an occupational health check-up and was told that I probably have a hearing defect.

Esteem® improves my ability to hear. The greatest advantage is that I can go anywhere with this hearing quality. I can lie in bed, be in the water, go to the sauna, jump under the shower; I can do everything.

I can go to the swimming pool and don‘t have to leave my hearing aid in the locker. If I want, I can jump into the water from the 5m platform and hear the others clapping when I arrive. That‘s the difference.

The quality of hearing is also unbeatable. Other hearing aids simply amplify everything that is picked up by the microphone, such as the wind when riding a bike. This is not the case with Esteem®. It doesn‘t have a microphone.

Albert, France

The reason I was so interested in this implant was because it was the only one in the world that was totally internal. That is to say, it is a bit like a pacemaker that you open from time to time to insert a new battery but it was the same. So for me, this was extraordinary, a revolution.

I couldn’t wait to be operated on.

It is so good to hear all the sounds of nature again, bird’s songs, the sound of the sea with the undertow, to hear music.

There can be fifteen, twenty, thirty people at table, you know, a banquet. I arrive, and even if someone calls me from far off and asks me a question, I can pinpoint where it’s coming from. I can hear the question; I can answer the person and of course when all the people around me talk to me, I can hold a normal conversation with them. Not only can I locate them because I can see them, I can hear what they are saying, so for me, this is not just considerable progress, it is a fantastic luxury. I feel that I am normal. I have become a normal man again, even if I do have a computer in my head.

Not only am I delighted with the device and with my operation but I am also delighted with the after-sales service, the fact that I am monitored constantly and that is very important.

Fabio, Italy

I started complaining of these problems since I was a child, but they were not so serious, as they just consisted in a reduction of hearing, which still allowed me to communicate. The situation had been getting worse over the years, up to a significant loss of hearing in the right ear, occurring three years ago.

I already had suffered from the same trouble in the left ear two years before. I was not able to hear well programs on TV, I tried to keep the right ear closed and hear with the left one. The sounds I was able to perceive seemed like those coming from a bad working radio.

The hearing aids I had to use were those characterized by the maximum intensity, which, apart from some slight improvements, did not succeed in solving my problem.

The greatest trouble for me was that caused by noises, whistles and sounds. Going to a restaurant, speaking on the telephone had become almost insurmountable obstacles, because of the whistles I was continuously hearing. Of course, the biggest difficulties were those I met in my working activity. Without my hearing aids I heard badly, I did not understand the words of those who were talking to me.

The surgical operation has been really satisfactory. I did not suffer any pain, or as consequences of the anesthesia. I was soon able to read the newspaper and after only one week I started going to the swimming pool every day.

Now I can speak on the telephone and I can hear well in many different situations. For example, some days ago, during a sung mass, I realized that I was hearing the choir well. During my aqua lessons, I can listen to the music while I am in the swimming pool and, at the same time, hear the words of my instructor.

As I have already explained, before the operation, I had to face many difficulties in the management of my business dealings, as a consequence of the impossibility to speak on the telephone. It is therefore, evident the significant benefit I had from the Esteem® operation in my profession.

On the whole, in the current phase I can be quite satisfied, also taking into account that I can rely on future further improvements. The necessity to charge the new Esteem® battery does not represent a problem for me; it‘s like going to the dentist.

A great advantage of my renewed situation is also represented by an improvement of my relationships, thanks to the current normal tone of my voice. Before the surgical operation, I used to shout, which made me insufferable for other people, including my family.

The new Esteem® I believe, has also contributed to a reduction of tinnitus, which caused me serious bothers when I took off the external prosthesis, especially in the evening, before going to bed.

Maria, Germany

Anyone who hears well just wouldn‘t believe it. What fascinated me most in the first few days were the birds.

The birds singing in the morning was so fascinating to me. And we have a stream that enters our pond – to hear that stream flowing.

My husband can now call to me across the courtyard and I understand him or I can be in another room and understand him. These are all moments of happiness that are almost impossible to describe.

None of this was possible with my hearing aids. And I could have never dreamed of also being able to understand voices so much better. Music also sounds so much better and more intense than before.

I mainly had it done because I was so annoyed by all of these problems with the hearing aids. They were either broken, or they were wet, or they were being repaired.

Sometimes it would have made sense for me to have my own private parking space in front of the audiology clinic because I was there so often.

The Esteem® is truly amazing.

Regardless of what I had hoped for, I had not dreamed of this. You simply can‘t imagine it.

If you are hard of hearing, you hope that it will help, but to this extent?!

Michel, France

Before having this surgery, I tended to avoid contact with people or I just pretended to listen, I couldn’t understand many things so that there were people looking a bit amazed at my answers because they were completely off the point.

I used to talk a lot, I used to talk really loud, people had to talk loudly to me, actually, my daughter came with me the day they turned it on and she noticed it straightaway and she said to me‚ “you are not speaking so loud. It’s great!” I could hear!

Even people who knew me before, say to me, “Michel, hey you can hear, that’s great!” You don’t react the same anymore to people. You are keen to join in conversations, no it is completely different!

The sea, you can hear the sea! The birds, I could see them before but I couldn’t hear them anymore, loads of things like that.

I can hear myself talking, before I couldn’t hear myself talk. It’s a breakthrough! It is GREAT!

Nicole, Belgium

For about fifteen years, I have been suffering from a disorder which affects my family. I am talking about deafness. This started with my grandmother, my mother was totally deaf and even my younger sister, who is ten years younger than me, has already a pronounced hearing problem.

I had the chance to have the Esteem® implant, and for me it is a miracle. For many years I had been used to wearing a hearing aid but I have really narrow auditory canals.

It is impossible for me to wear the small, invisible devices. And it is rather awkward, from the aesthetic point of view. Already for work, I have to wear glasses. It’s annoying.

At the end of the day, I was always pleased to be able to remove the external hearing aid. But once when I took it off, I did not hear the telephone!

My husband had forgotten his keys one day, he had gone to buy some bread and he was at the front door, he was stuck there for an hour. He was knocking and ringing but I did not hear a thing.

The first time they activated the Esteem® implant, I heard my husband talking behind me. I said, ‘I can’t believe it, I can hear!’ And then, the next day, it was extraordinary, I was sitting in my kitchen, drinking my coffee and I have a clock and I said to myself “but it goes tick-tock!” Even with my external hearing aid, I had never heard that it made a noise.

The best thing is in the morning, when I get up in the silence and when I turn the Esteem® on, it is a real joy! It is not like turning on a hearing aid then you have to adjust it and so on.

Getting up and activating the Esteem® implant, it’s like, “off you go, the whole world is opening up!”