Despite this website being quiet, I would like to assure you that we are still a very active group, and since Covid have resumed social events for cochlear implant users and candidates several times a year. 

We regularly host CI socials in Bristol, Weston super Mare, Taunton, Exeter, and Plymouth, and would like to return to Bath if anyone has ideas for a suitable venue. 

I hope that no one is using this website as their main information source for CI South West socials - if you would like to be on our email notification list for socials please email us at cisouthwest@yahoo.co.uk  

You are also welcome to ask questions via email which we can answer personally, or share in our Facebook group and report back to you with the group's answers.  

If you are on Facebook please do join our group there even if you rarely use FB.  You will then automatically be invited to all of our socials, and can also ask questions or share information there whenever you feel like it. 

Very best wishes, 

Katherine, Dave, and Tom

CI South West

 I wanted to wish everyone in our group the very best for a happier and healthier New Year in 2021!

It is hard to believe we actually had two in-person CI socials in 2020 - one in Exeter in January and one in Bristol on 29th February - they both seem so long ago!

Who knows when we will be able to meet up again, but if anyone would like to do an online Facebook chat, let me know and I can set one up on a day and time that works for you.

Take care and stay healthy everyone!

Should you let your CI battery go flat before recharging? No, and here's why

An excerpt from the New York Times explaining why lithium rechargeable batteries should be kept "topped up" rather than letting them drain before recharging:

Tech Myth 2: A battery should be at zero before you recharge it

The idea that you should always completely discharge a battery before charging it up again has legitimate origins, but it doesn’t apply to current technology. Years ago, when nickel–metal hydride (NiMH) and nickel-cadmium (NiCad) batteries were common, they suffered from an issue called “battery memory”: Unless the battery was completely spent before being recharged, it would “remember” how much power it had used and only charge back up that amount. If done repeatedly over time, the battery would never charge totally again.

Fortunately, the lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery that’s probably in your phone or laptop right now doesn’t suffer from this issue, at least not in any significant way. In fact, with Li-ion batteries, you can actually do more harm than good by letting them die before charging them again, because they have a limited number of charge “cycles” (meaning times you can completely discharge and recharge them) before batteries start to hold less overall power.

Luckily, according to Battery University, the solution is pretty simple: Charge your devices from time to time before they fully die. These so-called shallow discharges mean you don’t use a full charge cycle every time you top off your phone after carrying it for a few hours or plug in your laptop after working on the couch for the afternoon. In reality, the biggest enemy of modern batteries is temperature. The cooler you can keep your battery, either while charging it or while it’s in use, the more you can prolong its life.

Travel

CI South West member and frequent traveller Serena Cant has provided us with lots of useful information regarding disabled/deaf discounts for train, coach, and bus travel plus additional accessibility info - visit this page for more: http://cisouthwest.blogspot.co.uk/p/travel-deaf-people-are-entitled-to.html

New CI South West general flyer

We have a new CI South West general flyer ... please feel free to print out copies and distribute as you see fit ... local audiology units, deaf clubs, other group gatherings, anything you can think of! For a .pdf copy email cisouthwest@yahoo.co.uk and we'll send you a copy of the file.
Many thanks.

Updated CI comparison chart

Just discovered that this CI comparison chart has recently been updated (May 2016)... it may be helpful for those of you currently deciding which CI to get (don't worry if you don't understand everything, most people don't! :-) :)) 

Visit this page, then click on "comparison chart" to download the .pdf file:
https://cochlearimplanthelp.com/cochlear-implant-comparison-chart/

CI Battery Recall

FYI if you use disposable CI/HA batteries:

MEDICAL DEVICE ALERT - from MHRA (Medicines and Healthcare products regulatory Agency)
All ZeniPower mercury free hearing aid and cochlear implant batteries - low risk of batteries exploding during use or if depleted.

Do not use batteries with a best before date of '08-2018' and '09-2018'. This date is on the outer blister packaging.

For more information: https://www.dropbox.com/s/ya8jrbnirqvqykb/MDA-2016-003_final[1]%20Zhuhai%20Zhi%20Li%20Battery%20Co%20Ltd.pdf?dl=0

New Resource

Since we couldn't find a comprehensive list of CI blogs written by UK CI users, we decided to create one ourselves. We hope that new CI candidates will find this list useful. 

This new list is a work in progress -- please let us know if you spot any problems such as broken links, or if you know of other UK CI blogs that we should include!

UK CI Blogs
http://cisouthwest.blogspot.co.uk/p/uk-ci-blogs.html

Many thanks,
Katherine

The latest from WEHIP (Bristol) on their move to St Michaels - including new telephone number

For Bristol CI folks:

The latest news from WEHIP (formerly WECIP, the new name includes BAHA and other implants as well as CIs!) about their move to St. Michaels. In particular, notice the new telephone number:

WE ARE MOVING!

The West of England Hearing Implant Programme adult team will be moving to St Michael’s Hospital in the autumn to join our paediatric colleagues.

Clinic appointments with ENT Consultant Surgeons will commence at St Michael’s Hospital from September 2014.  All other appointments will remain at Southmead Hospital until November 2014 when they will also move to St Michael’s Hospital.


Please check your appointment letter carefully to ensure you attend the correct hospital.

As from August 1st 2014 our new contact telephone number is:

0117 3421191

Our email address remains the same:

wecip@uhbristol.nhs.uk


Kind regards

West of England Hearing Implant Programme

CI audiology at Southmead is moving in May...

For Southmeadians: the CI audiology unit at Southmead will be moving to the new Brunel building (aka "new" Southmead Hospital) on May 15 and 16 so the audiology unit will be closed those dates. The Audi's don't know yet if this move is permanent, they may have to move again! The old Audi unit was originally due to be razed but will now be offices due to the merger of Southmead and Frenchay hospitals. Public service announcement now over... 

Useful CI Links

Useful CI Links

Below are some links to various websites which may be of use. Please let us know if you find any broken links, inappropriate content, or have suggestions for other resources.

CI South West (UK) Facebook Group Page - join us!
>https://www.facebook.com/groups/cisouthwest/

Southmead Audiology **NEW** email as of Spring 2013   wecip@uhBristol.nhs.uk

West of England Cochlear Implant Programme Website (Southmead/BRI)
http://www.uhbristol.nhs.uk/patients-and-visitors/your-hospitals/other-services-in-bristol/the-west-of-england-cochlear-implant-programme/

Southmead CI Blogs 
Written by people who have received their CI at Southmead. 

http://davesdeafhead.wordpress.com/
http://deaflinguist.wordpress.com/
http://graysdeafblog.wordpress.com/

Manufacturer Websites
In addition to the primary product site, each CI manufacturer hosts an user forum for CI users and candidates to share experiences and ask questions. These forums can often be very helpful when you want to find answers to specific questions when researching CIs. 

Advanced Bionics     
Main Website (UK)    http://www.advancedbionics.com/uk/en/home.html
Hearing Journey user forum     http://www.hearingjourney.com/

Cochlear Corp.   
Main Website (UK)    http://www.cochlear.com/wps/wcm/connect/uk/home
Cochlear Community user forum http://www.cochlearcommunity.com/

Med-El     
Main Website (UK)    http://www.medel.com/uk/
HearPeers user forum    http://www.medel.com/uk/hearpeers/

There is also a fourth CI manufacturer, Neurelec, based in France which is not available through Southmead/BRI.

Cochlear Implant Comparison Chart
Many people find this chart helpful in understanding the differences between the various makes of CI. It was put together by a group of CI users and aims to be impartial. http://cochlearimplanthelp.com/cochlear-implant-comparison-chart/

This related website includes some links that you may find useful when researching CIs: http://cochlearimplanthelp.com/

British Cochlear Implant Organisations

British Cochlear Implant Group (BCIG)    http://www.bcig.org.uk/

Safety Guidelines for Cochlear Implant Users  http://www.bcig.org.uk/downloads/pdfs/2012%20safety%20final.pdf

National Cochlear Implant Users Association (NCIUA)    http://www.nciua.org.uk/index.php

What is CI South West?

CI South West is a social group made up of Cochlear Implant (CI) users and candidates in the South West of England, including those who received their CI at Southmead/BRI Hospitals in Bristol, UK.

The main purpose of this group is to provide an opportunity for CI users and candidates in the South West to meet each other, ask questions and share experiences. Partners and friends are welcome too.

We plan to organise CI social events in Bristol, Exeter, and Taunton (and also elsewhere in the South West if there is demand).

A secondary purpose of this group is to share information and experiences about Southmead/BRI surgical and audiology units.

We welcome people from a wide variety of backgrounds -- whether you are born deaf, late deafened, sign or don't sign or a bit of both. All CI makes are welcome (Advanced Bionics, Cochlear, Med-El and undecided). We look forward to hearing more from you!

We can also be contacted on cisouthwest@yahoo.co.uk