Go-Go Gadgets

Just dropped a little over $700 on new CI processor supplies, including two new batteries (the old ones are down to about 4 hours of service on a full charge now) at $175 apiece and a new t-mic at $150. (I was startled at how much better I heard when my audiologist put a new t-mic on my processor during the recent visit; she said that they get dust and debris in them over time and they, too, have a life expectancy.) I mention the prices to give you an idea of what components for this system cost; the Canadian health care system paid for the big kit with all the accessories when I first got implanted, but replacement costs are my responsibility. (I do get a significant non-refundable tax credit as someone who is permanently disabled, though, which offsets these costs.)

I also splashed out on something that is not necessary, but which is rapidly becoming so in a time of global climate change and its related weird weather. When I chose my processor system, I opted to use rechargeable batteries for power. This is an image of my battery charger, where the little brown batteries go to recharge. The green light at far right means that the charger is plugged in; the red light on the battery second from right means that battery is currently charging.

Once charged, the battery slides onto the bottom of the processor; in this photo, it's about halfway installed on the processor, to make it easier for you to see where the processor stops and the battery starts.

Choosing this option meant that the whole unit is worn and powered at ear level, so it's convenient, more discreet, and less clumsy than other options, about which more later. The downside is that the batteries are expensive and will eventually no longer be able to be recharged, and most importantly, if I don't have access to electricity, I can't recharge the batteries as they die, I eventually don't have access to battery power, and I don't hear.

The original kit came with travel adapters for the charger plug, and so far on our trips abroad we've had no problem using them with the charger. However, as our travels take us further off the beaten path - which is our plan - that's not necessarily always going to be true. Just as important, everything from climate change (the winter from hell last year, for just one example) to the threat of terrorist activities and interruptions, large and small, in places near and far (the attacks in NY had remarkable impacts here, ranging from financial institutions not being able to access information to people not being able to get prescriptions filled for weeks afterwards) have us all packing 72-hour emergency preparedness kits and considering how we will get along if we are without electricity for multiple days or even weeks. So I got myself this little guy: an Auria Powerpak. It's a system consisting of a clip-on powerpack that takes one regular AA battery and which is attached to a cord ending in a unit which slides onto my processor, just like my battery normally would.

Using this system, one AA battery will give me one and a half days' worth of power. At $250, it's an invaluable backup system and a great investment.

If you're wondering about that appendage protruding from the bottom of the processor attachment, it's called a "huggie" (srsly!). The huggie is installed to make up for the fact that using this system, you don't have the weight, and hence the stability, that the independent battery normally would provide; the huggie hugs behind the ear and makes the processing unit more stable. This body-worn battery system seems to be standard for kids; probably because the rechargeable batteries are small, expensive and easy to lose, and the cord being attached would also make it harder to lose the whole shooting match.

Which would, at a replacement cost of around $7,175, suck.

ronnie