Listen to an iPod during a storm and you may get more than electrifying tunes. A Canadian jogger suffered wishbone-shaped chest and neck burns, ruptured eardrums and a broken jaw when lightning traveled through his music player’s wires.

Last summer, a Colorado teen ended up with similar injuries when lightning struck nearby as he was listening to his iPod while mowing the lawn. Emergency physicians report treating other patients with burns from freak accidents while using personal electronic devices such as beepers, Walkman players and laptop computers outdoors during storms.

Contrary to some urban legends and media reports, electronic devices don’t attract lightning the way a tall tree or a lightning rod does. When lightning jumps from a nearby object to a person, it often flashes over the skin. But metal in electronic devices–or metal jewelry or coins in a pocket–can cause contact burns and exacerbate the damage.

A spokeswoman for Apple, the maker of iPods, declined to comment. Packaging for iPods and some other music players do include warnings against using them in the rain.