Check list

A drying system that includes a desiccant, or drying agent, to remove moisture from components. If you’ll have access to electricity, it’s wise to bring a Global Dry & Store Unit, an electrical moisture removal system. When used each night, your implant components will always be ready for the following day’s activities. (Note: For foreign travel, be sure to bring an electrical converter/adapter.)

Zip-lock plastic bags for protecting and storing components. Sandwich-size bags are perfect for storing body-worn processors and protecting them from sand and moisture. 

A water-resistant hat or cap to protect your microphone or behind-the-ear (BTE) processor from rain or excessive water.

A homemade cap with a small pocket sewn onto the outside. The pocket will keep your processor away from your skin and protect it from perspiration. For sewing directions, go to http://www.cochlearamericas.com/Recipients/1070.asp

A padded pouch for protecting a body-worn processor from water. A bubble-wrap bag is great for padding. Just pop your processor inside, and place it within a fanny pack or belt pouch. A pouch made of waterproof, neoprene material — the stuff wet suits are made of— is ideal. Visit www.tunebelts.com for more information.

A HS7 Headset Cable (for Spectra 22 processors) or HS9 Headset Cable (for SPrint processors). When wearing a microphone behind your ear will be a problem, the cable will connect your processor to the transmitting coil. But to pick up sound, you’ll also need to bring along a Lapel Microphone and Clip, which plugs into the accessory input socket on your processor. You can tuck the lapel microphone inside your clothing or a protective pouch to keep it dry.  

Protecting BTE Processor  - pouches and special cables don’thelp much when you use on of the ESPrit BTE processors, although you can use on of the extra long cables or cable/coil pieces and put the processor inside a padded sleeve or protective pouch. For example, the 8 inch beige cable/coil (product Z60458) for the ESPrit 3G would allow enough room to place the processor under a collar or clipped to clothing.  Visit the Transmitter Cable/Coil section of the online catalog for more options.

A cover to protect your Lapel Microphone and Clip. Although a Lapel Microphone is generally more water resistant than a behind-the-ear (BTE) microphone, you’ll still need to protect it from moisture. A plastic cover will protect it but may produce a hollow, muted sound. Using a fabric made of water-repellant material usually works better. You can also use a Hearing Aid Sweat Band, a moisture-proof fabric that will cover the entire microphone.  

Accessory cables, such as a Personal Audio Cable or TV HiFi Cable with any necessary adapters. These might come in handy if you take a self-guided tour and are given an audio component with headphones. A Personal Audio Cable will let you remove the headphones and connect the audio component directly to your speech processor. This usually provides better sound quality than placing the headphones over your processor microphone.

And don’t forget…

Extra implant equipment, including necessary cables, an extra coil, and a spare speech processor if you have one.