Re: Cochlear Implants and Roller Coasters?

August 12, 2011

I went to an amusement park last month for the first time since getting

bilateral implants. I wasn't really thinking about it, so I was wearing

the external processors. That was fine until about the third ride, which

was one of those sort that you're locked into a tight brace on the seats

hanging under the rail, and you're whipped around tight curves and loops.

Somewhere near the end of that ride, I felt my left side processor fall

off and land on my shoulder. I tried to grab it, but the large brace

holding me in my seat blocked my arms. When the ride ended, I checked my

seat for the processor, but it wasn't there, of course.

The ride staff were gracious enough to stop the ride and start searching

inside the fence under the ride for my processor. I was rather anxious,

and looking inside from the fence, but not seeing anything, and then

finally I started looking outside the fence and found the battery several

yards away. We looked along the line from that back to the ride, and

found my processor hanging on the fence.

And even after being flung that far from the ride, it still worked just as

well as ever, without even a scratch.

I did take the processors off and stick them in my pocket for each ride

after that, though. :-)

I've done enough crazy things that I'm not worried at at all about the

*internal* portion on amusement park rides.

Ken

--

Do the hardest thing first, then the rest will be easy.

-- Unknown

On Fri, 12 Aug 2011, bob_mx5 wrote:

>

> We are planning to take our grandsons to Cedar Point Amusement Park next week,

and I was

> wondering what restrictions I should follow regarding the roller coaster

rides. Obviously, I

> would not wear my external processor on the rides, but could the jostling of

the rides cause a

> problem with the internal parts of the implant? Has anyone had experience with

roller coasters

> and their implants?

>

> Bob

>

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