MED-EL launches a cochlear implant with nothing worn outside

MED-EL launched TICI UNICO on 29 September 2026. The Innsbruck company describes it as the first commercially available cochlear implant with every component beneath the skin, including the microphone. The device has a CE mark and is being introduced in European markets. It is not approved by the US FDA and is not available in the United States.

Every conventional cochlear implant depends on a processor worn on the head, which captures sound and must come off to sleep, shower or swim. TICI UNICO removes it. An implanted microphone picks up sound through the skin, and the implant turns it into electrical signals that stimulate the auditory nerve. According to MED-EL, recipients hear around the clock, including while the device is charging, with performance comparable to its established systems. The device is intended for people with severe-to-profound sensorineural hearing loss.

MED-EL calls capturing sound through the skin one of the hardest problems in the design. It names two surgeons among the first to implant the device: Philippe Lefèbvre, head of ENT at CHU Liège, and Joachim Müller of LMU University Hospital Munich.

Cochlear, the other large implant maker, has filled enrolment in pivotal trials of its own totally implantable system. MED-EL is the first to put one on the market.