Cochlear has launched a world-first platform featuring its new NEXOS chipset embedded in a novel “smart”, upgradable cochlear implant that is capable of evolving with future innovations.
A significant advance in the history of the technology, Cochlear said the Cochlear Nucleus Nexa System is the first and only hearing implant featuring internal memory and upgradeable firmware.
The “smart” cochlear implant system, which launched in Australia and New Zealand on 12 June 2025, is described as “like a computer inside your head” and “game-changing technology” that grows with recipients’ needs, future-proofing their implant.
Conventional cochlear implants can only access future innovation by upgrading their external sound processor. But the new system revolutionises the way people with hearing loss can access future technology via both updates to the firmware in the smart implant and upgrades to the sound processor over time.
“This is the first cochlear implant with its own firmware, so the device can be upgraded to new features and advancements throughout the user’s lifetime. Just like a smartphone receives a firmware update, now people with a Cochlear implant can stay connected to the latest technology updates today and well into the future,” said Mr Jan Janssen, chief technology officer.
Implant stores MAPs
The system is also the first implant with built-in memory, allowing personalised hearing settings (MAPs) of the user to be securely stored in the implant, ensuring seamless transfer to a new sound processor if the current one is lost or damaged.
Janssen said Cochlear had re-imagined the internal technology of the cochlear implant system: “The Nucleus Nexa System combines 40+ years of proven reliability of our trusted implants and technology leadership, with a new cutting-edge chipset called NEXOS, which is packed with innovative features.
“With onboard diagnostics that monitor system performance to ensure optimal hearing, it reduces the burden on users and carers, setting a new standard in implantable hearing technology. The new chipset powers the implant, enabling the smart features of the system and it will serve as the platform for Cochlear’s future smart implant innovations.”
Australians with hearing loss are among the first in the world to access the next generation technology which is designed and manufactured in Australia.
All cochlear implants are powered by a chip (receiver-stimulator device) in the internal implant inside a patient’s head, but unlike existing implants, the new technology features a chip with onboard memory.
The built-in memory on the implant stores each recipients’ personalised hearing settings (MAPs), said leading cochlear implant surgeon Professor Robert Briggs, director of the Cochlear Implant Program at The Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital.
“It’s exciting to see this next iteration which has been between 10 and 20 years in the making and we hope to see big improvements in the outcome,” he told Hearing Practitioner Australia.
“The difference is the ability to have the program stored inside the internal implant, rather than just being stored in the external sound processor, allowing for automatic updates which makes it easier for audiologists to maintain and service patients.
“We hope it will not only provide better function, but also better sounds – quality and clarity.”
Mr Ravin Nand, general manager of Cochlear Australia and New Zealand, said: “The implant is where the technological advancements are, the breakthroughs that we have never seen before. It’s a whole system launch, and the chip itself has 10 years’ R&D.”
Like a smartphone update
He said it was akin to a smartphone for hearing, with users able to upgrade to new features and innovations over time without needing new external hardware.
“Just like a smartphone update, it ensures people stay connected to the latest technology seamlessly,” Nand said. “It’s a gamechanger because of more sophisticated internal electronics, greater capabilities and being more future ready.
“The new system combines more than 40 years of proven reliability of our trusted implants and technology leadership, with a new cutting-edge chipset called NEXOS. The new chipset is built on more than 10 years of research and development by Cochlear.”
The mapping process details specific settings or programs that optimise functionality of the implant for each patient which matches their auditory abilities and provides optimal speech intelligibility. It does this by adjusting electrical stimulation parameters for each electrode in the cochlea which then stimulates the auditory nerve to send sound signals to the brain.
“Patients can easily transfer their MAPs (from the chip) to a new sound processor if their current one is lost or damaged,” Rand said.
Information is always with them
Apart from the internal implant, the system also features a new external sound processor, he said.
Prof Briggs, who operates at The Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital, The Royal Children’s Hospital, and St Vincent’s Private Hospital, said that instead of the patient’s hearing information being stored only in the external sound processor, it is now on the internal implant. This means it is always with them.
“Existing internal implants are static and cannot store software like the Nucleus Nexus can,” he said.
“This unlocks the potential for clinicians (i.e. audiologists) to reduce their costs to serve patients because they’ll not spend as long performing mapping since information is stored in the implant.”
Audiologists traditionally program the implant on a laptop and send the person’s individual hearing information from the sound processor back into the internal implant. Now, the memory chip stores this information and sends it from the internal device to the sound processor.
“Previously the internal implant was programmed by an external sound processor which converts sound into electrical signals,” Prof Biggs said.
“Now that information will be stored in the internal implant, which allows ‘smart syncing’, a new process, where instead of the program coming from outside (the sound processor), it’s coming from inside the implant to the outside which is a major advancement.”
Nand added: “To make hearing easier, the Nucleus Nexa System intuitively responds to changing needs throughout each day.”
Its Forward Focus feature uses artificial intelligence, which enhances sound clarity in noisy environments. This feature is already available through the Nucleus Smart App for existing cochlear implants and on the new platform.
Another feature is enhanced smartphone compatibility, with apps on phones interfacing with the new implant, Nand said. “Users enjoy clearer sound streamed directly from compatible mobile devices and, in future, at airports, concert venues and more using Bluetooth LE Audio and Auracast broadcast audio,” he said.
Automatically adjusts listening
The system also intuitively responds to changing needs throughout each day and can automatically adjust listening to help people hear more clearly. The implant features a new gold implant coil and new RF (radiofrequency) Link technology with dynamic power management which facilitates more efficient power and data transfer between the sound processor and the implant and automatically maximises battery life for each use.
This means battery life has risen from 12 hours to 15-16 hours, Nand said.
“In future, firmware could upgrade it to 20 hours maybe via the app,” he said. “People with a Nucleus Nexa System can experience new features and advancements, via both updates to the firmware in their smart implant and upgrades to their sound processor over time.
“This groundbreaking technology is one of the biggest developments in innovation in cochlear implants because we used to make implants of a particular model and it stayed that model for the rest of the patient’s lives.
“The difference here is this is a ‘smart’ implant which is upgradeable, so it moves, evolves and learns through the journey of innovation that cochlear implants bring about.”
Cochlear implant pioneer, Professor Graeme Clark AC, who has seen the new system, said: “It is truly remarkable to me that in 2025 we have the development of the world’s first ‘smart’ cochlear implant system. This latest innovation is not something I would have imagined more than 40 years ago.
“Advances like these make hearing loss even easier to manage for both doctors and people who use the device. I am excited about the potential this leap forward in technology offers to help improve the lives of the millions of people all around the world living with hearing loss.”
Implant ‘dramatically changed things’ for patient
One of the first people in the world with a Nucleus Nexa System is Melbourne-based Mr Stephen Dyt.
“My experience with hearing loss started with seeing my grandmother and father struggle with hearing loss,” he said. “It was something I have lived with my entire adult life.
“Since I was 17 years of age, I have worn hearing aids but in the last few years, I wasn’t getting the same benefit, and I was struggling to hear in settings I previously coped well in.
“My family and friends noticed this change and I decided it was time to explore a cochlear implant. When the opportunity came up to be one of the first people to receive this new cochlear implant, I was extremely nervous and excited.
“This new implant has dramatically changed things for me and most importantly, my family. I am now able to interact and live with confidence and life is a lot easier as I can now hear clearly.”
The system is now available to eligible Australians through the public health system and private health insurance companies. About one in six Australians (3.6 million people) have hearing loss, yet only 10 to 12% of Australian adults who could benefit from a cochlear implant have one.
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