Whether you’re headed off to an island getaway or getting on a plane to visit family in another state, traveling can be both rewarding and exhausting, especially when making your way through the airport.
If you are one of the millions of people in the United States who have hearing loss, airports may seem even more daunting. Thankfully, there are several steps you can take to make your experience go smoothly.
Checklist for Before Your Flight
There are several things you can do before even arriving at Sioux Gateway Airport to help make travel easier, including:
- Remembering to bring your hearing aids
- Making sure you have extra batteries or your charger if you use rechargeable hearing aids
- Bringing a safe place to store them, such as their case or a drying box
- Packing hearing aid cleaning tools like a soft dry cloth or bristled brush
- Make an appointment with your hearing specialist before the flight to check if your device needs any adjustments
When You Get To The Airport
- Going through security: It’s not necessary to remove your hearing aids when you go through security, and in fact, it would make it harder to understand any instructions from TSA agents if you did. You may want to give an agent a heads up that you use hearing aids and/or have hearing loss before you go through so that they are aware.
- Hearing announcements: Even with your hearing aids, it can be easy to miss certain announcements because airports are such loud, busy environments. Thankfully, many airports also use hearing loop systems. If your hearing aids have a telecoil, you can use loop systems to have important announcements from the airport PA system streamed directly into your device.
- Talk to an attendant: Once you reach your gate, it can be helpful to speak with an attendant to let them know about your hearing loss and ask them to notify you about any important pre-boarding information.
Once aboard, it’s also a good idea to tell a flight attendant about your hearing loss as well, so that they can make sure you are informed of any safety information or change in arrival time that may come up during a flight.
If you have additional questions about traveling with hearing loss or wish to schedule an appointment, contact the experts at Ear, Nose & Throat Consultants today.