what they don't tell you about CIs

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kimpossible

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i just gave my friend (who has a CI) the news that i'm getting a CI this summer. she got all excited and started telling me loads of things that i should expect after the surgery. a lot of it was stuff I alreay knew, but then there were some other little things, like removing the CI when you go through the airport detector, not playing with balloons (?), not being able to play soccer...? numbness on one side after surgery, etc. these are all teeny little things that I didn't know. and i don't know how accurate she is on some of them anyway, but do any of you have anything else to add to that list?
 
kimpossible said:
i just gave my friend (who has a CI) the news that i'm getting a CI this summer. she got all excited and started telling me loads of things that i should expect after the surgery. a lot of it was stuff I alreay knew, but then there were some other little things, like removing the CI when you go through the airport detector, not playing with balloons (?), not being able to play soccer...? numbness on one side after surgery, etc. these are all teeny little things that I didn't know. and i don't know how accurate she is on some of them anyway, but do any of you have anything else to add to that list?
Click to expand...

I received a card from my ci company list the restrictions. It is not a lot. Just restrictions on mri and scanners.

the playing with balloon is about static electricity. You want to avoid that since i can wipe out your mapping. If that happens you just get your programs reloaded. I get shocked all the time, so far nothing as happen. I also was told to carry bounce fabric sheets and you rub your hands on it, if you feel you have static.

Yes, there is numbness after surgery. Everyone recovers differently. I had both done, so it took a week to recover. I was back to work in a week.
 
kimpossible said:
i just gave my friend (who has a CI) the news that i'm getting a CI this summer. she got all excited and started telling me loads of things that i should expect after the surgery. a lot of it was stuff I alreay knew, but then there were some other little things, like removing the CI when you go through the airport detector, not playing with balloons (?), not being able to play soccer...? numbness on one side after surgery, etc. these are all teeny little things that I didn't know. and i don't know how accurate she is on some of them anyway, but do any of you have anything else to add to that list?
Click to expand...


Yeah, I haven't experinced going through the airport, but yes, I think they requests you to take it off, and will wave a wand. You just show them your card that you have a CI. Some metal detectors are weak, so they only look for very strong metal. I know that a friend of mine went through one at Great Adventure (umm...Six Flags for you non-Jersey folks), and it was fine.

Numbness - that's normal, because they're cutting the skin and some of the skin nerves. It will go back to normal over time. Like Vallee said, people recover from that varies. For me, I had the surgery in January, and at this moment, a small area is still slightly tender (with pressure it's tender), and slightly numb. Some people recover very quickly, others takes a longer time. It took a while for my taste buds to get back to normal as I had numbness in my tongue for a couple weeks.

Soccer - Well, it's highly recommended NOT to because you don't know if the ball will hit you in the head, and that could potentially cause issues with the implant. If you really love soccer, maybe you can get a helmet to protect the implant. Or play light soccer (friends and stuff like that, not a real team). I don't know much about sports, but this is what I'm reading up on others.

Scuba Diving - Well...the companies are saying do not go Deep Diving, or more than 90 feet. I personally feel that the companies are saying that to save their asses. I don't know if it's true, but I know if you try to go deep (more than 125 feet??), it may have pressure issues. If the implant cracks, then you would just get it replaced. It's not going to explode in your head or anything like that, it's just going to crack under pressure.

You will not want to do anything for at least 3 days after surgery, so be sure you have someone waiting for you hand and foot for ya! The painkillers will knock you out majority of the time. Before surgery, set up your bed so you have lots of pillows on the unimplanted side, and have some support for your back because you will not want to lay down on your back or lay down on the implanted side. What I found really helped is to sleep on the couch since the width is small enough that I don't flip flop, and the cushions for my back is soft enough. Some people tolerate pain better than others. For me, it wasn't "painful", as my head was numb anyways from the medicine. It was just being uncomfortable that was getting to me. So, comfort is the key. :)

Be prepared to fumble around with the CI after activation, and sounds. I'm sure you already know, but it seem to take me a while to figure out HOW to keep my CI on my ear! I had to try different methods. It's a learning process!

I wish you BEST OF LUCK!!!
 
Oh yeah I forgot to add...good advice I read a while ago...don't drive yourself crazy reading other blogs. Take a select few that you like. Like mine...:) And just focus on reading those blogs. The reason why is because you may drive yourself crazy trying to compare yourself to others. I do not compare my audiogram to others, but at first I compared myself to others on how much they could hear now and thinking why can't I reach that goal NOW? BUT...it takes time, everyone is different, then I stopped doing that. Lesson learned.
 
kimpossible said:
i just gave my friend (who has a CI) the news that i'm getting a CI this summer. she got all excited and started telling me loads of things that i should expect after the surgery. a lot of it was stuff I alreay knew, but then there were some other little things, like removing the CI when you go through the airport detector, not playing with balloons (?), not being able to play soccer...? numbness on one side after surgery, etc. these are all teeny little things that I didn't know. and i don't know how accurate she is on some of them anyway, but do any of you have anything else to add to that list?
Click to expand...

We never take Lotte's CI off going through one of those.

Balloons... is this about static?... Lotte is 5, going 6.... Balloons are her life..

No soccer... well, getting a ball on the Ci might not be good.... Would I stop her from playing.... don't know yet.
Lotte cycles a lot, and wears a helmet. Like a batting-helmet, and it does not stop her from doing anything.. (As if we could tell her to slow down...)

Numbness.. no idea...

But!
If you are interested... there's a way to get into the water with CI on..

Anyone interested?
 
I've walked through airport and bus metal detectors while wearing my CI with no problem at all.

I've also played with balloons - but not right after surgery (as you aren't supposed to "blow" anything up - it puts pressure on your sinuses) and have have no problems whatsoever.

Can't play soccer? Nobody told me that- I play rough and tumble games with my niece and nephew all the time!

My ear was numb for about 6 months (normal since they cut the nerves) but the nerves grow back and my ears are as normal as they ever were.

Just out of curiosity- does your friend have a CI as well, or is she just saying things she's heard other people say?
 
Yeah, according to the TSA, you don't need to remove the outer part of your CI to go through metal detectors. However, if you're -worried- about the risk of damage to your device, you can request a pat down. That is your choice, not mandatory.
 
Being a mum, balloons are a big part of my life (!), haven't had any problems with them so far but if I do, I'll go to the clinic to get the programs reloaded.

I've also travelled a fair bit across the world with my CIs and fly quite frequently on domestic flights within Australia. I've never taken my CI off. To begin with, I just informed the security guys that I had a CI and they would just scan me with the wand, but these days I don't bother and just walk through the doorway scanner and have had no problems.

Yes, numbness after the surgery is accurate. It will likely go away over time.

I would personally take off my CIs to play soccer, but that's just me.

It sounds like your friend cares and is being supportive!
 
There's always a risk when it comes to ANY implant-type surgery. Our bodies respond differently to implants. Some bodies will accept it, while others will fight and resist it.

It's like organ transplants. After this procedure has been done for years, they've gotten better... but they still have complications from time to time due to the body rejecting the organ.

So, when you get CI... you will likely face at least one problem.

Here's a quote from one of my favorite anime called Fullmetal Alchemist... "Humankind cannot gain anything without first giving something in return."

In other words, getting CI... you may have to sacrifice something else. That would be balloons, high-magnet rides, some contact sports, etc.
 
I never had problem with CI restriction. It seem that restriction are almost forgotten when I had it for 4 years. My only concerns is to stay away from stacked plastic tubs or trays at Post Office where I work. Those plastic generate tons of static electricity if stacked as high as 6 foot (as strong as Van De Graaff machine). I walked through between stacked trays many time before and It zaps me like crazy when my skin got too close to it (If stacked trays or tubs lined up several feet on both side with pathway). I can feel hair standing a foot away. So what I did is to cover my CI Processor tightly while walk through to ground the static electricity so it won't wipe the program (mapping). Or I walked around safer path to avoid it altogether.

I received Email from friend in past about What's safe or not while using CI. I learned that it's okay to use Arc welder or MIG welder as long as you remove your CI processor.

I went to Airport and gave TSA my CI processor to inspect (he swabbed and put swab in detection machine and show up clean LOL) and I walked through metal detector and picked up my processor after that.. BUT when I was at Bradley Airport (Hartford CT). One TSA was mad at me for removing processor. He scolded me to leave it on and walk through metal detector. I explained that my Audiologist told me NOT to walk though metal detector WHILE wearing PROCESSOR!! He insist but I insist not to. I told him that it'll wipe out program. I'm sticking what my Audiologist says! Sorry!! He had a cold stare at me and I walked away... This was one of those stupid guy I've encoutered. I don't care if they jump or tasered on me just for refusing to leave processor on. They should respect my wish (I've never had problem at other airports). If you don't agree with me, sorry, I'm just being toughie.

Balloon isn't much harm unless you have sweater on and rub till your skin hair start standing near balloon which is enough to wipe out program in Processor.

I had minor problem wearing cap but I got used to it by loosen it to fit my CI coil inside of it.

Thanks
Catty
 
What about destroying your remaining or residual hearing to give you hearing????
 
jasin said:
What about destroying your remaining or residual hearing to give you hearing????
Click to expand...

So? What little I had gave me NO benefit whatsoever....so why preserve something that isn't even helping you in the first place. From my experience, the same can be said for most other CI implantees I've spoken with. Why is residual hearing such an important argument against CI's? When you compare the little that might be lost and so much gained...I say the tradeoff is MORE than worth getting the implant.

Would be interested in hearing what others here have to say.
 
jasin said:
What about destroying your remaining or residual hearing to give you hearing????
Click to expand...

:roll: Big fat whopping hairy deal! You win some and lose some. There are always trade offs in life. I much prefer to hear to worry about "losing" something that wasn't doing me much good anyway.

As neecy said, I have no idea why people think that keeping one's residual hearing is important.
 
jasin said:
What about destroying your remaining or residual hearing to give you hearing????
Click to expand...
i think that's one of the big things that they DO tell you about CIs haha.

anyway, thanks everyone for clarifying all of this for me! =) about the metal detector thing - my friend always puts her CI in a box and lets it go through the conveyor belt x-ray thing. so could i like just take the CI off & put it in my pocket, then walk through the metal detector?

i have another question that i didn't bring up with my friend. so what if i want to ride a roller coaster with OTS (over-the-shoulder) restraints? sometimes if it's a bumpy coaster, you bang your head on the sides of the restraint. i ALWAYS take off my BTE before i go on these rides anyway. but like, if i bonked the side of my head even with the CI removed, would that be bad?
 
kimpossible said:
................
i have another question that i didn't bring up with my friend. so what if i want to ride a roller coaster with OTS (over-the-shoulder) restraints? sometimes if it's a bumpy coaster, you bang your head on the sides of the restraint. i ALWAYS take off my BTE before i go on these rides anyway. but like, if i bonked the side of my head even with the CI removed, would that be bad?
Click to expand...
Just buy a baseball batting-helmet, and you'll be find where-ever you go....
 
You don't need to go buy some baseball batting helmet and look like an idiot wearing them wherever you go.

The implant is made of silcone and titanium housing so you would have to do damage to your own skin and skull before you can break the implant.

I am pretty sure it quite safe to play soccer or even football with CI as long your not wearing the processor. I am too old for sport but I am pretty sure there lots of CI sport players out there. I only scuba dives.

Even the manfacture recommend at only 80 feet for scuba diving but there is a deaf women that went 110 feet scuba diving in a local lake and had no issues with her implant even she knew the limitation was recommend at 80 feet max.

CI'er doesn't or don't need to live in a padded world so this myth need to be dispelled and flushed down the toilet once for all.


Oh BTW there are no wire sticking out of the side of my neck either :cool:



.
 
TechBill said:
You don't need to go buy some baseball batting helmet and look like an idiot wearing them wherever you go........
.
Click to expand...
I know...
But if you are prone to worry and it would restrict you in the activities you would choose, why not wear the helmet and enjoy the rollercoaster WITH sound...

But like you said. There's no need for it...
 
One of my friend s teenage girl who has ci.. She had quit the School Soccer team by reason of injure her head and ci :(
 
Phillips said:
One of my friend s teenage girl who has ci.. She had quit the School Soccer team by reason of injure her head and ci :(
Click to expand...
I'm sure there are people without CI that have been hurt as well.....
That there is a risk does not mean you should not do it....
 
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