Four tips for holiday travel with hearing loss

The following content was provided by TruHearing, Aspire Health Plan’s partner for affordable hearing healthcare services and hearing aids.

With more people vaccinated every day, the world is learning how to travel again. You can only go so long without seeing family, friends, and loved ones, and for those discovering they have hearing loss, holiday travel has a different set of challenges. From road noise to communication issues—there’s a lot to navigate.

Follow these tips to make your holiday trips a little merrier.

1. General travel

When travelling, do you often find yourself asking others to repeat themselves? The fewer questions you need to ask someone wearing a mask behind a plexiglass wall in a noisy lobby, the better.

Get in the habit of using smartphone apps to manage reservations, navigation, and travel alerts. It also doesn’t hurt to keep some things old school. Bring back-up printed copies of important documents like hotel reservations and tickets.

2. Planes & trains

Have you noticed you’re missing out on important travel announcements? Let the conductor or flight attendant know you’re having difficulty hearing so they can make sure you’re informed of last-second changes. Know your schedules, sign up for text alerts through your airline or train’s app, and watch the live timetable screens for last-minute changes. Sit near the gate or departure lobby so you don’t miss boarding.

3. Automobiles

One of the worst parts of car rides for people with hearing loss is background noise. It’s even worse when roads are wet and slushy. If you’re taking a ride share, carry a notepad and pen to answer questions—or communicate with your driver by text using your phone’s rideshare app. It’s a good idea to politely notify your driver that you have hearing loss, so they don’t try to start up a conversation or think you’re being rude.

4. For those travelling with hearing aids

Always pack your hearing aid supplies—including extra batteries and charging cables—in a self-contained bag inside your carry-on, where it’s easy to access. You want to be prepared for unexpected delays or lost luggage. When walking through metal detectors and security checkpoints, you might feel the urge to remove your devices, but you don’t have to. Detection equipment is perfectly safe for the electronics in your hearing aids.

New tech could ease your travel woes 

If you’ve been thinking about getting your hearing checked, new advancements in hearing aid technology can make all the difference during holiday travel.

• Advanced noise reduction cuts airplane engine roar, chatter, and road rumble
• Some models offer directional microphone control and even Bluetooth® audio synching to get navigation instructions from your car or phone sent directly to your hearing aids
• Downloadable apps let you quickly and discreetly change hearing aid programs on the go
• Directional programming lets you focus on the person in front of you, a travel partner next to you, or fast-moving traffic coming from behind you
• Models with mask mode let you boost volumes when you can’t read lips

Remember, as an Aspire Health Plan member, you have access to hearing care through TruHearing®. With your benefit, you get up to two new hearing aids per year at a low copay of $899 per aid for the TruHearing Premium hearing aid or $599 per aid for the TruHearing Advanced hearing aid. If you’re experiencing hearing difficulty this holiday season, we hope you’ll take advantage of the program. Call TruHearing at (866) 792-7913 to schedule a hearing exam with a provider in your area.

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