Don't Risk Losing Cochlear Implant Processors When Swimming

Recently, this story was sent to us by an audiology group about one of their patients who was surfing with cochlear implants while on vacation.

A storm was brewing, and a large wave pulled off my son's entire cochlear implant processor and headpiece. Devastated, he swam in to tell me, but searching for it was nearly impossible in the strong surf. For the next 3 days while the storm raged, I went down to the shore and watched the pattern of the wind and the waves. On my family's last day of vacation, the storm had finally subsided so the I decided to snorkel near some rocks the waves had been hitting. During one dive as a wave pulled away sand from the floor of the ocean, the dad saw something red under a rock. When I swam down to investigate, I found the processor still connected to the headpiece, which was stuck under the rock! When I  pulled on the processor, the headpiece would not budge. I knew that I was running out of air and if he went back to the surface to get a breath, another wave would come and bury the device again. So, I gave one final tug which pulled the headpiece free. I returned to the surface with the entire device! As if finding the processor after 3 days in the ocean was not amazing enough, my family was astounded to see that it still worked!

This is a truly amazing story with a happy ending, but many families and individuals around the world are not as lucky. Some people clip their processor to some part of their clothing only to find it lost after being tossed by a wave, or crashing on mountain bike. Mishaps during recreational activities happen. Unfortunately, for people with cochlear implants those mishaps can be very costly. 

As a parent of a child with bilateral cochlear implants, our greatest fear came when our son participated in any activity where there was a chance he could lose his processors. We became helicopter parents even though we never wanted to limit our child’s ability to participate in any activity. As a result of this problem, we created the Ci Wear shirt.

Ci Wear makes specialty shirts designed to secure and help protect cochlear implant processor(s). It has patented pockets that include elastic bands to clip the processor to and a button hole inside of the pocket to run the sound cord under the shirt. This reduces the risk of a wave, hard fall or crash knocking off your processor(s).

If you have ever spent money on a case to protect your cellphone, then a Ci Wear shirt is for you. It is the perfect accessory for your cochlear implant processor(s), and gives you the security, comfort, and confidence to participate in and enjoy all types of activities without the fear of losing your device.

#swimming #cochlearimplants #Secure #CiWear 

SWIMMING WITH COCHLEAR IMPLANTS IS IMPORTANT FOR WATER SAFETY

By Eric Sherman

For many people, swimming is a fun and refreshing activity…especially when it’s hot. For parents, (like us), with a child who is profoundly deaf, swimming can be quite challenging, nerve racking and scary.

When trying to beat the heat, we head to the beach and my son loves to swim in the ocean looking for fish.  He will chase them by diving through waves and swimming away from the shore. I often find myself in the water for hours making sure he is safe.  It is exhausting and frightening trying to keep him from drifting to far down the beach and/or getting caught up in the current or swimming into large sets of waves. 

Thankfully, he wears waterproof bilateral cochlear implant processors and can hear instructions about where to swim and when to come in, etc.  This has been extremely helpful in keeping our son water safe! It also enables us to do more water sports, like surfing and body boarding.  We do check his devices periodically to make sure they are on and working.  Sound quality is not a concern as long as he can hear his name and follow instructions.  

If you’re having problems getting your child to wear their CI device in the water because of sound quality, comfort or wearing configuration options… then try to find solutions that will help make them comfortable in the water with their device.  It’s a safety issue more than anything else. It’s important for your child to be able to hear lifeguards, other people, oncoming boats or personal watercrafts and especially you.  When my son was swimming looking at fish, he was drifting to far from me; I yelled his name, his head popped up out of the water. I told him to swim back towards me and he did.  Without the ability to hear, we would probably limit his swimming activities.  Swimming is therapeutic for our son, so this would not be a good thing.

In our house, we make wearing cochlear implant processors mandatory in the water like wearing sun block.  Most cochlear implant manufactures offer a water configuration for their devices.  In time your child will get use to and understand any sound differences in the water, but make sure they are comfortable. There are wearing options such as hats and arm bands, etc.  Our son wears a Ci Wear shirt.  It's a sun protected swim shirt designed to secure and help protect cochlear implant processors. If your child isn't comfortable wearing their processors in the water find a wearing option that works for you.  In the end, your child needs to hear to be safe and being comfortable will likely lead to a more enjoyable experience.  

#swimming #beach #cochlearimplant #watersafe #Kids 

                                                                                                                                      

Ci Wear is a patented shirt designed to secure and help protect cochlear implant (CI) processors and other mobile listening devices. Use as a rash guard, swim shirt or an exercise apparel. For more information visit www.ciwear.com

COCHLEAR IMPLANTS AT THE BEACH | BEST ACCESSORY | SWIMMING

Going to the beach wearing cochlear implant processors can be challenging.  Being comfortable and protecting these expensive devices can affect your day.  Do you take off your processor going out into the water? Do you bring a special bag or case for your hearing equipment? What accessories will best secure my processors if I go out in the water or play beach volleyball?

Clipping sound processors to bathing suit top or bottom, using Velcro straps, lanyards, or swim hat can seem like an easy solution, but it can also expose your devices to simple mishaps that can potentially lead to loss or damage.  When at the beach, we’ve all seen toddlers get bumped off their feet by a rising tide, individuals getting hit by waves, or people playing physical games in the sand.  In an instant, a processor can be knocked off a person’s body.  Not properly securing your cochlear implant processors to your body can ruin your day and be quite costly.

The best accessory for cochlear implants processors at the beach is a Ci Wear shirt.  This rash guard / swim shirt is designed to secure cochlear implant sound processors, adding a layer of protection for the devices and its sound cords.  My son has been knocked around pretty hard in the waves when swimming and surfing, and the processors stayed secured inside the shirt’s pockets. In addition, special loops in the collar keep wires to the back of his head and are helpful in rapidly locating his headpiece if they become dislodged.

Avoiding the beach is a thing of the past with our son, we all now enjoy it.  Our focus is more on the activities and experiences, a lot less on his equipment.  If you or your child are looking for a more comfortable and secure wearing option for your cochlear implant processors, try Ci Wear. 

#swimming #beach #cochlearimplant #surf #ciwear #kids

If you like our blog, please subscribe and share with others. Thank You!

Ci Wear is a patented shirt designed to secure and help protect cochlear implant (CI) processors and other mobile listening devices. Use as a rash guard, swim shirt or an exercise apparel.   Ideal aqua accessory for waterproof cochlear implant sound processors. For more information visit www.ciwear.com

                                                                                                                                                  

Determining the Right Magnet Strength for My Cochlear Implant Headpiece

By Eric Sherman

Finding the correct magnet strength for each person is different. Our son is bilaterally implanted, very active, and it always seems his headpieces are coming off when he is playing. We started using just two magnets that came in the universal headpiece, but that didn’t seem to work on one side of his head. We added one more magnet to make it three on the one side, and that was a mistake.

The connection point on his head began to turn red. Our son wasn’t really complaining that much so we left it alone. Well, over a period of time, he began to develop a sore on his head at the connection point. The magnet strength was to strong. This was not good. We ended up having to take the processor off until his head healed. Not the smartest thing to do to your child, especially during the school year.

Still having a magnet strength issue on the one side of our son’s head, we tried folding very small layers of paper on the bottom of the battery well of the headpiece to move the 3 magnets away from the connection point. The papers worked, but the magnets were still too strong and it still caused the connection point on our son’s head to turn red and tender.

We learned that the little foam spacer that comes with the AB headpieces (UHP and AquaMic) can be placed in between the magnets. For the longest time, we thought the spacer just went on top of the magnets. Our audiologist suggested we insert two magnets then the foam spacer and add another magnet on top (see picture). This seemed to be the right combination for our son. He had fewer problems with the magnet coming off and it didn’t irritate his head.

When swimming with the AB AquaMic, we place 4 magnets in both headpieces. This seems to help keep the headpieces on better with all the jumping in and out of the water. Using goggles and a Ci Wear shirt also helps with easy location and rapid placement if the AquaMic becomes dislodged from the head.

When using increased magnets strengths during swimming or other sports activities where the headpiece is prone to come off was for short periods of time. Monitoring the connection point on the head is important to make sure the magnet is not generating any skin irritations. After using increased magnet strength for your activity, definitely go back to your daily magnet strength. If the connection site on the head is irritated, you may want to consider giving the sore side a break from wearing the headpiece. Consider using a different magnet strength next time.

Determining magnet strength is a trial and error process. Don’t do what we did and a leave on until a sore appears. A red and irritated looking site is a good indication the magnet strength is to strong.

Troubleshooting Neptune Processor Water Leak | Battery Compartment

By Eric Sherman

My son uses an Advanced Bionics Neptune sound processors daily.  We have a white battery cap for the left side, and red battery cap for the right.  This was the easiest way for us to know which processor was programmed for which side of the head. 

We found over time water leaked into the battery compartment, and the battery would begin to rust.  This was very concerning to us.  We thought how could the seal start breaking down so quickly?  What we discovered was the battery cap was cracked.  

We found the cap had developed a micro crack on the end.  You could only see it when you pulled outward on the sides of the cap (pictured). The crack most likely developed over time from daily use, and from attaching the processor clip. 

We decided to replace the daily use caps with new caps dedicated just for swimming. We picked a different color not to mix up the caps.  Ever since we started changing caps for swimming, we have not had any problems with water leaks.

If you find water getting into your battery compartment, check for small cracks and make sure the gasket around the processor is free of debris.  Also, consider using different caps when swimming if you use the Neptune processor for everyday use.  

Please read our story Troubleshooting Cochlear Implant | Processor Will Not Turn On if you find rust in battery compartment after water use.

#CiWear is a shirt designed for cochlear implant (CI) processors and other listening devices. Use as a rash guard, swim shirt or an exercise apparel.