Cochlear Implants
#1
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Cochlear Implants
First off, I searched and have read a couple of inspiring threads about deaf cyclists. My wife and I are not deaf...and no deaf family members even far extended but for some reason we produce deaf children. My 5 year old son and 3 month old daughter are profoundly deaf.
my son has cochlear implants and I'm wondering if any fellow cyclists use them while riding. I feel like it would be very uncomfortable under the helmet but I feel it would be beneficial if he could hear while riding.
my son has cochlear implants and I'm wondering if any fellow cyclists use them while riding. I feel like it would be very uncomfortable under the helmet but I feel it would be beneficial if he could hear while riding.
#2
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I assume you're talking about the part that attaches to the head, not the part that goes around the ear.
https://www.earsurgery.org/wp-content...ant-image.jpeg
For a kid's helmet, traveling at kid speeds in the driveway, You might carve a notch out of the inside the inside of the helmet so the implant sits in a little hole in the helmet. Doesn't have to be a full hole all the way through the helmet shell, just deep enough to let the foam of the helmet sit around the implant. That would weaken the helmet, but it's got to be better that riding without one.
And I'd only do that for a kid's helmet where the big danger is falling off at 8mph and needing something to stop their skull from smacking pavement. I wouldn't suggest that for an adult traveling on the road where there could be sliding and smacking secondary objects like a curb or car hood or anything like that.
Disclaimer....I'm not a helmet safety engineer. I'm making an assumption that a weakened helmet is better than no helmet for a situation where a kid is likely to fall off at relatively slow speeds and bonk his head on the pavement. Any helmet seems better than no helmet there. Especially if it's a larger helmet like kids tend to wear anyway that are thicker than an adult helmet relative to the size of the kid's smaller head.
As the kids get bigger your helmet options expand dramatically and you might be able to find one that just fits naturally. As you know, adult helmets can be found fairly small that sit much further up on the head, where kids helmet tend to drop down lower. You might also find one where that part of the helmet isn't a pressure point on the skull.
https://www.earsurgery.org/wp-content...ant-image.jpeg
For a kid's helmet, traveling at kid speeds in the driveway, You might carve a notch out of the inside the inside of the helmet so the implant sits in a little hole in the helmet. Doesn't have to be a full hole all the way through the helmet shell, just deep enough to let the foam of the helmet sit around the implant. That would weaken the helmet, but it's got to be better that riding without one.
And I'd only do that for a kid's helmet where the big danger is falling off at 8mph and needing something to stop their skull from smacking pavement. I wouldn't suggest that for an adult traveling on the road where there could be sliding and smacking secondary objects like a curb or car hood or anything like that.
Disclaimer....I'm not a helmet safety engineer. I'm making an assumption that a weakened helmet is better than no helmet for a situation where a kid is likely to fall off at relatively slow speeds and bonk his head on the pavement. Any helmet seems better than no helmet there. Especially if it's a larger helmet like kids tend to wear anyway that are thicker than an adult helmet relative to the size of the kid's smaller head.
As the kids get bigger your helmet options expand dramatically and you might be able to find one that just fits naturally. As you know, adult helmets can be found fairly small that sit much further up on the head, where kids helmet tend to drop down lower. You might also find one where that part of the helmet isn't a pressure point on the skull.
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I have a CI but I don’t wear it when riding, because it won’t fit under the helmet. As Skipjacks says, you would need to carve out the helmet to avoid interference. I have never found a helmet that would fit above the CI, for what it’s worth.
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Hearing aids are ALWAYS preferable to a CI.
If you can derive benefit from a HA, that’s the way to go.
I will say that the criteria regarding severity of loss is less than what it used to be, I believe you can actually have a moderate HL in lower frequencies, but if there is little to no benefit from wearing a hearing aid, then a CI might be an option
If you can derive benefit from a HA, that’s the way to go.
I will say that the criteria regarding severity of loss is less than what it used to be, I believe you can actually have a moderate HL in lower frequencies, but if there is little to no benefit from wearing a hearing aid, then a CI might be an option
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