Originally Posted by GrendelQ

I think different clinics have different policies about this, but we got 2 sets of each Freedom (and we were upgraded to N5s after a couple of years, so we have 6 working, mapped processors), although we only have 3 dry and store boxes: 1 for each side for her freedoms, and then a new one (only one) came with the N5s.

Some people keep the second set boxed for the future. We've alternated: one set pink, one black, and she chose the color she wanted in the morning. We also used our 'back-up' set frequently in her first year: there was an issue with the long cords that connected between the coil and the processor, and the cords (even right out of the box) kept wreaking havoc on her processors, so we went through 3 processors in a matter of 2 months before Cochlear identified a bad batch of cords as the culprits. That was 4 years ago, and after replacing that faulty set of cords we've never had that happen since. But we were glad to have a back-up in hand not only to use if a processor went on the fritz, but also to use to troubleshoot problems. We could swap out components to see what combination caused issues, and to see if one processor sounded different to my daughter than the other. When we go in for mappings, we carry a whole batch of processors, and the audi just lays in each program on the whole set.