5 Tips for Better Hearing While Traveling

If you experience hearing loss, then it’s important to make sure that you’re adjusting your expectations and the measures you take to improve your hearing health depending on the environment, as you may well already know. Traveling with hearing loss can be a new experience for many, and it might seem difficult to adjust to, at first. Here are some tips you can use to ensure better hearing while traveling so that it doesn’t require as much fuss.

1. Pack Everything You Will Need

Make sure that you don’t leave any part of your hearing aid kit back at home. This means bringing your hearing aids (of course), enough batteries to last the duration of the trip (with at least a couple of spares), your dehumidifying case and your cleaning kit. You might also want to bring a vibrating alarm clock with you, as you might not always be able to get a wake-up service and you don’t want to end up sleeping through half of your travels.

If you’re going to a different country, then you need to make sure that you get an idea of what power adapters you need to make use of their differently shaped power outlets.

2. Take the Time to Find the Accommodations You Need

Wherever you go, there are likely to be hotels, bed and breakfasts or other accommodations that do a little more to offer assistance to those who experience hearing loss. Some will offer special amenities, such as flashing phones, subtitled televisions or compatible Bluetooth technologies. As such, you should always do your part to look up the different accommodations in an area.

If you use Google to look for hearing loss-friendly hotels, then you’re more likely to come up with the best fit for your needs. The same should be done with activities and venues in the area, including museums, theaters and the like. A little research can go a long way.

3. Make Use of Apps for Your Travel Needs

When you’re actually traveling to the destination, you need to make sure that you’re on top of all of your logistical needs, whether you’re traveling by plane, train, automobile or otherwise. The good news is that there are apps for many of these. Most larger railway lines and airports will have apps you can use to keep an eye on timetables or to get an alert for any delays.

Otherwise, many of these announcements will come over the speaker which you might be prone to miss. Ensure that you make use of the apps before you reach the train station or the airport so that you’re comfortable navigating it for the information that you need.

4. Take Extra Care to Keep Your Hearing Aids Dry

As you may well know already, hearing aids can be terribly susceptible to moisture. It can seep into the device, and corroding the batteries can cause the technology within it to malfunction. As such, when you are traveling, you have to make sure that you keep your device as dry as possible. Avoid going out in the rain when you can and bring your hearing aid case with you, especially one that has dehumidifying features.

If you’re in a place with a humid climate, you might want a travel case to keep on your person so that you can quickly store your hearing aids there when the air gets particularly moist. Be careful not to get sand or seawater in your ears when you’re wearing your devices at the beach, as well.

5. Be Your Own Advocate

When you’re traveling, there are going to be times that you might need a little more assistance or you might need someone to adjust their treatment of you due to your hearing loss. For instance, if they’re talking to you, you shouldn’t be afraid to remind them that you have hearing loss and could use a little extra help. Most people are going to be perfectly friendly and happy to accommodate you, especially if this is their job. Staff at your accommodation, tour guides and others who are providing travel services should be informed so that they can be as helpful as possible.

Contact an Audiologist for Advice

If you need any more specific advice on how to ensure better hearing under any circumstances, then your audiologist is going to be the best authority to ask. Learn more about the team at Davis Audiology and get the help you need by calling at (864) 810-6238.