Mother Nature's Sound Effects... and ZAP!

since this is the first Autumn ever that i have my CI, new sound experiences keep popping up all over the place:

• leaves rustling in the wind
• the wind in general whooshing past me
• crackling of dry leaves under my car
• even the doorbell ringing every few minutes on Halloween!

i have also had the "pleasure" of being shocked by static electricity while wearing my CI. to the average person, this may not seem like a big deal... it happens all the time, right?

well... when *I* get zapped by static electricity, i actually go DEAF for a split second. it is the scariest thing! it is also NOT good for my processor because it can get disrupted by exposure to static electricity.

as the British Cochlear Implant Group says in their RECOMMENDED GUIDELINES ON SAFETY FOR COCHLEAR IMPLANT USERS:

Cochlear implant systems have some inbuilt protection from static electricity, but occasionally static electricity has corrupted the map of processors and very rarely caused damage to the internal implant.

it's not like i deliberately rubbed my body against my car seat and then touched the door to get a shock, though... i was not even expecting to go deaf, but when i did -- wow. i know, i have to be careful.

for anyone who is interested in more information about static electricity, Advanced Bionics has a good explanation at the bottom of this page.

happy Fall to everyone!

:-)