When Will a TICI Cochlear Implant Be Available in My Country?
Living with a cochlear implant5 min read· Reviewed
You can get TICI, the totally implantable cochlear implant, in only one region today: Europe, where MED-EL launched TICI UNICO on September 29, 2026. It is not FDA-approved, it is not routinely available on the NHS, and we found no approval in Canada, Australia or Japan. The table below goes country by country, with the date we checked and the source.
Envoy Medical said its US Acclaim trial has passed the six-month follow-up milestone and two of the four parts of its FDA application are submitted. Its CEO said an FDA decision is possible by the end of 2027 or in the first part of 2028, which is a company forecast.
The British Cochlear Implant Group issued public guidance: a totally implantable cochlear implant is not routinely available in the UK, including on the NHS, and anyone offered a conventional cochlear implant should not delay.
MED-EL launched TICI UNICO in Europe on September 29, 2026, calling it the first totally implantable cochlear implant on sale. It was granted a CE mark in July 2026 and is not FDA-approved.
Cochlear Ltd announced that both pivotal trials of its investigational totally implantable cochlear implant have finished recruiting: ELEVATE in the US (56 adults) and ENTERPRISE in Australia and France (36 adults).
Each row gives the status, any trials, and what comes next, in the words of the company or the regulator. “None found” means we found no approval or trial in public records or company news. Unknown is written as unknown.
Totally implantable cochlear implants, country by country
Country
Can you get one?
Trials
What’s next
Checked
United States
Can you get one?Not available. No totally implantable cochlear implant is FDA-approved.
TrialsTwo pivotal trials, both fully recruited: Cochlear Ltd’s ELEVATE (11 sites) and Envoy Medical’s Acclaim trial (7 sites).
What’s nextEnvoy Medical says an FDA decision is possible by the end of 2027 or in the first part of 2028 (company forecast). MED-EL says it is pursuing FDA approval with no timeline.
Can you get one?TICI UNICO has a CE mark, but it is not routinely available, including on the NHS. The four NHS funding bodies have not decided and have no timetable.
TrialsNone found.
What’s nextBCIG plans to review its guidance after its meeting in January 2027. It asks anyone thinking of paying privately, in the UK or abroad, to talk to their NHS cochlear implant center first about long-term follow-up and repairs.
Can you get one?Not available. We found no TGA approval.
TrialsCochlear Ltd’s ENTERPRISE pivotal trial runs in Sydney and Melbourne and is fully recruited. A smaller Cochlear study of 18 adults runs at the Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital.
What’s nextThe trial registry estimates ENTERPRISE main results in April 2027. No launch date announced.
Can you get one?Covered by TICI UNICO’s CE mark, and MED-EL runs German and Austrian campaign pages. MED-EL has not published a country list, and a campaign page is not proof of sale.
TrialsMED-EL’s pivotal trial included Vienna, Munich and Würzburg, and it was completed in September 2025.
What’s nextA German proposal for a new hospital procedure code says a totally implantable cochlear implant costs far more than a conventional one. It is not in the 2026 procedure catalogue or the preliminary 2027 one.
Can you get one?Covered by the CE mark. MED-EL has campaign pages for Denmark, Spain, Italy, Norway, Poland and Sweden; whether it is on sale in each is not published.
TrialsMED-EL’s pivotal trial included Antwerp and Liège in Belgium and Kajetany in Poland.
What’s nextPoland: price and timing not yet announced (Poland Insight, reported).
No totally implantable cochlear implant is FDA-approved. Two pivotal trials in the US have finished recruiting: Cochlear Ltd’s ELEVATE, with 56 adults at 11 sites, and Envoy Medical’s Acclaim trial, with 56 adults at 7 sites.
Envoy Medical has submitted two of the four parts of its FDA application. Its CEO said an FDA decision is possible by the end of 2027 or in the first part of 2028. That is the company’s forecast, and the FDA sets its own timing. The trial registry estimates ELEVATE’s main results in October 2027, and Cochlear Ltd has not given a submission date. MED-EL says it is pursuing FDA approval for TICI UNICO and has not given a timeline.
Europe: MED-EL’s TICI UNICO is on sale under a CE mark granted in July 2026. MED-EL has not published which countries.
United Kingdom: a CE mark, but no NHS route yet
TICI UNICO’s CE mark is accepted in the UK, but the British Cochlear Implant Group says it is not routinely available, including on the NHS. The four NHS funding bodies have to decide, and there is no timetable. BCIG plans to review its guidance after its meeting in January 2027.
If you are thinking of paying privately, in the UK or abroad, BCIG asks you to talk to your NHS cochlear implant centre first and find out who will handle follow-up, programming and repairs over the years.
Canada and Australia
We found no approval in Canada or Australia. In Australia, Cochlear Ltd’s ENTERPRISE pivotal trial runs in Sydney and Melbourne, with 36 adults across Australia and France, and has finished recruiting. The trial registry estimates its main results in April 2027. A smaller Cochlear study of 18 adults runs at the Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital in Melbourne.
None of the trials we found has a site in Canada, and no company has announced a date for Canada.
Germany, Austria, France and the rest of Europe
TICI UNICO is sold under its CE mark. MED-EL has not named the countries where it sells. It runs campaign pages for Germany, Austria, the UK, Denmark, Spain, Italy, Norway, Poland and Sweden. HearingTracker reports France among the launch markets. A campaign page does not mean a hospital near you offers it.
In Germany, a proposal for a new hospital procedure code says a totally implantable cochlear implant costs far more than a conventional cochlear implant, and that the current hospital payment would not cover it. It is not in the 2026 procedure catalogue or the preliminary 2027 one. In Poland, the price and timing have not been announced (Poland Insight, reported).
In France, Cochlear Ltd’s ENTERPRISE trial runs in Lille and Grenoble. MED-EL’s pivotal trial ran in Austria, Belgium, Germany and Poland and was completed in September 2025.
What to do while you wait
If you have been offered a conventional cochlear implant, the British Cochlear Implant Group and a Cochlear Ltd trial investigator both say not to delay. Ask your cochlear implant team or audiologist how the timing applies to you. Our page on waiting for better cochlear implant technology covers the rest.
Whatever reaches your country, and whenever, you can practice listening with the hearing device you have now. Have a cochlear implant? The activation timeline shows when practice usually starts. If you wear hearing aids, you can practice with them today.
People reliably improve on the listening tasks they practice. How far that carries is still being studied.
Sources
Every row and every fact on this page comes from these sources. The date at the top of the Latest box is the day we last re-checked them.
When will the invisible cochlear implant be available in the US?
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No date is set. No totally implantable cochlear implant is FDA-approved. Envoy Medical says an FDA decision on its Acclaim is possible by the end of 2027 or in the first part of 2028, which is a company forecast. Cochlear Ltd has not given a date, and MED-EL says it is pursuing FDA approval with no timeline.
Is a TICI cochlear implant available on the NHS?
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Not routinely. The British Cochlear Implant Group said on October 3, 2026 that MED-EL’s TICI UNICO is not routinely available in the UK, including through the NHS, and that the NHS funding bodies have not decided. BCIG plans to review its guidance after its meeting in January 2027.
Is a TICI cochlear implant available in Canada?
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We found no Health Canada approval for any totally implantable cochlear implant, and none of the trials we found has a Canadian site. No company has announced a date for Canada.
Is a TICI cochlear implant available in Australia?
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Not yet. We found no TGA approval. Cochlear Ltd’s ENTERPRISE pivotal trial runs in Sydney and Melbourne and has finished recruiting, and the trial registry estimates its main results in April 2027. Cochlear has not given a launch date.
Which countries sell a TICI cochlear implant?
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MED-EL’s TICI UNICO is sold in Europe under a CE mark, and MED-EL launched it there on September 29, 2026. MED-EL has not published a country list. HearingTracker reports France among the launch markets, and MED-EL runs campaign pages for several European countries.
Can I travel abroad to get a TICI cochlear implant?
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You can ask, but plan for the years after surgery. The British Cochlear Implant Group asks anyone thinking of paying privately, in the UK or abroad, to talk to their NHS cochlear implant centre first and to find out who will provide follow-up, programming and repairs.
No country’s timeline changes what you can do this week. The free listening check shows where speech gets hard for you, and short daily sessions then work on exactly that, with hearing aids or a cochlear implant.
