There are a couple of types of vacations, right? There’s the kind where you jam every single recreation you can into every waking minute. These are the trips that are remembered for years later and are full of adventure, and you head back to work more worn out than you left.
Then there are the relaxing kinds of vacations. You may not even do much of anything on this type of vacation. Perhaps you drink a bit of wine. Maybe you spend a day (or two, or three) on the beach. Or possibly you spend your whole vacation at some kind of resort, getting pampered the whole time. These types of vacations will leave you really rested and recharged.
Everybody has their own concept of the perfect vacation. Whichever way you prefer, however, neglected hearing loss can put your vacation in jeopardy.
Your vacation can be spoiled by hearing loss
Your vacation can become a challenge if you have hearing loss, particularly if you don’t know you have it. Many individuals who have hearing loss don’t even recognize they have it and it eventually creeps up on them. On all their devices, the volume just continues going up and up.
But the effect that hearing loss can have on a vacation can be reduced with some proven methods, and that’s the good news. Making an appointment for a hearing test is obviously the first step. The effect that hearing loss has on your fun times will be greatly reduced the more ready you are before you go.
How can hearing loss effect your vacation
So how can your next vacation be negatively impacted by hearing loss? Well, there are a couple of ways. And while some of them might seem a little trivial at first, they have a tendency to add up! Some common examples include the following:
- You can miss important moments with family and friends: Everyone enjoyed the great joke that your friend just told, but unfortunately, you missed the punchline. When you have untreated hearing loss, you can miss important (and enriching) conversations.
- Getting past language barriers can be frustrating: Coping with a language barrier is already hard enough. But untreated hearing loss can make it even harder to understand voices (especially in a noisy situation).
- You miss crucial notices: Maybe you miss your flight because you didn’t hear the boarding call. And as a result, your whole vacation schedule is cast into total chaos.
- The radiant life of a new place can be missed: Your experience can be rather lackluster when everything you hear is muted. After all, your favorite vacation spot is alive with unique sounds, like active street sounds or singing birds.
A number of these negative outcomes can be prevented by simply using your hearing aids. Which means the proper way to keep your vacation on track and stress free is to take care of your hearing needs before you start.
If you have hearing loss, how can you prepare for your vacation?
That doesn’t mean that you can’t go on vacation if you have hearing loss. That’s nowhere near true! But it does mean that, when you’re dealing with hearing loss, a little bit of additional planning and preparation, can help make sure your vacation goes as smoothly as possible. Of course, that’s rather common travel advice regardless of how strong your hearing is.
Here are several things you can do to make sure hearing loss doesn’t negatively impact your next vacation:
- Clean your hearing aids: Before you go out on your travels, be certain that you clean your hearing aids. If you have clean hearing aids, you’re much less likely to have difficulties on vacation. Keeping your hearing aids on their scheduled maintenance is also a good idea.
- Do a little pre-planning: When you need to figure things out as you go, that’s when hearing loss can present some difficulties, so don’t be overly spontaneous and plan as much as possible.
- Pack extra batteries: There’s nothing worse than your hearing aid dying on day 1 because your batteries went dead. Remember to bring some spare batteries. Now, you might be thinking: can I bring spare batteries in my luggage? The precise rules and guidelines will depend on the airline. Some kinds of batteries must be stored in your carry-on.
Hearing aid travel tips
Once all the preparation and planning is done, it’s time to hit the road! Or, well, the airways, maybe. Before you go out to the airport, there are a number of things about going on a plane with hearing aids you should certainly be aware of.
- Is it ok to use my hearing aids longer than usual? Most hearing specialists will suggest that you wear your hearing aids all day, every day. So, any time you aren’t sleeping, showering, or swimming (or in a really noisy setting), you should be wearing your devices.
- Will I be able to hear well in an airport? That will depend, some airports are very noisy during certain times of the day. But a telecoil device will usually be set up in many areas of most modern airports. This is a simple wire device (although you’ll never see that wire, just look for the signs) that makes it easier for you to hear with your hearing aids, even when things are loud and chaotic.
- Can I use my hearing aids on the plane? When they announce that it’s time to off your electronic devices, you won’t be required to turn your hearing aids off. That said, you might want to enable flight mode on hearing aids that heavily rely on wifi or Bluetooth connectivity. Some of the in-flight announcements could be difficult to hear so make sure you let the flight attendants know about your hearing loss.
- When I go through the TSA security checkpoint, will I need to remove my hearing aids? You won’t be required to take your hearing aids out for the security screening. Having said that, letting the TSA agents know you’re wearing hearing aids is always a good idea. Don’t ever allow your hearing aids to go through an X-ray machine or conveyor belt. Your hearing aids can be damaged by the static charge that these conveyor type X-ray devices generate.
- Do I have some rights I should know about? Before you leave it’s not a bad plan to get familiar with your rights. If you have hearing loss, you’ll have lots of rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act. But essentially, it amounts to this: information must be accessible to you. Talk to an airport official about a solution if you think you’re missing some info and they will most likely be able to help.
- Will my smartphone be helpful? Your smartphone is extremely useful, not shockingly. You can utilize your smartphone to find directions to your destination, translate foreign languages, and if you have the right kind of hearing aid, you can utilize your smartphone to adjust your settings to your new environment. You might be able to take some strain off your ears if you’re able to use your phone like this.
Life is an adventure, and that includes vacations
Whether you have loss of hearing or not, vacations are unpredictable. Not everything is going to go right all the time. So be prepared for the unexpected and try to have a good attitude.
That way you’ll still feel like your plans are on track even when the inevitable obstacle occurs.
Of course, the flip side to that is that preparation can make a difference. With the right preparation, you can make sure you have options when something goes wrong, so an inconvenience doesn’t turn into a catastrophe.
Getting a hearing exam and making certain you have the correct equipment is commonly the start of that preparation for individuals with hearing loss. And that’s accurate whether you’re going to every museum in New York City (vacation type number one) or taking it easy on a beach in Mexico (vacation type number two).
Want to make sure you can hear the big world out there but still have questions? Schedule an appointment with us for a hearing test!