Traveling with a hearing loss

This time of year is a high travel time. Travel these days can be stressful.    Holidays mean celebration and family gatherings.  It means parties with co-workers.  If you have a hearing loss and wear hearing aids, it is usually difficult to hear in a group situation when it is noisy. 

            Traveling to reach the homes of family members sometimes includes air travel.  This can be a challenge, even for the young healthy person with good hearing.  When checking in bags, I would recommend checking the bags with a skycap outside the terminal.  It is usually easier to hear them.   They are careful to ticket your bags properly since they are usually hoping for a tip.  And, this means too I have less to manage when I actually enter the terminal.  I just have to have my carry-on bag, boarding pass, and personal ID. 

            Going through security with hearing aids is usually alright.  It would be a good idea to tell the TSA agent that you are wearing hearing aids.  You do not need to remove them to go through the scanner.  If you are having difficulty hearing or understanding the TSA Agent, inform them that you are hearing impaired. 

            Once you have maneuvered through Security, you need to find your gate.  It is important to have the airline send you a text message if there are any changes to the gates or changes to your flight status.  Airlines personnel make announcements over the Public Address System to inform passengers of changes in gates or flight status.  Even with normal hearing it can be challenging to understand the announcements.  Most people speak too rapidly when they are speaking over a PA system.  The words become garbled and difficult to comprehend. 

            If you have the airline send you a text message to your cell phone, you will be able to read the message and not depend on your traveling companions or fellow passengers to interpret the announcement.  The airlines use today’s technology to keep passengers informed of any changes.  When you purchase your tickets you can usually request this feature. 

            When a person is stressed, it is usually more difficult to hear and understand conversational speech.   A large cavernous room with lots of background noise makes the situation even more difficult.  Use technology to help you hear better.