Approximately 15% of American adults report some trouble hearing. Whether camping at Howard Prairie Lake or flying to a tropical vacation, knowing how to accommodate hearing loss while packing for your vacation can help remove some of the stress of traveling.
Let’s look at a couple of packing tips and suggestions to help make sure you don’t leave anything behind.
Protect Your Hearing Aids
Hearing aids can help you understand speech, keep you more aware of your surroundings and manage tinnitus symptoms. To ensure you can enjoy these benefits on vacation, make sure to take extra steps to protect your devices, including:
- Bringing a protective case. It is likely that you will be wearing your hearing aids much of the time, but you will probably take them out when sleeping or entering water-heavy areas. Make sure to bring a protective case to store them in when not in use.
- Giving fragile items more padding. Wrapping hearing aid accessories and other fragile items in a sweater or t-shirt before packing will help cushion them from damage if the bag is mishandled.
- Seal off liquids. If you are storing liquids in your bag, place all of them in a plastic bag in a separate compartment from electronic or fragile items to prevent spillage.
- Prioritize your carry-on. Your carry-on or personal item is a great place to put hearing aids, accessories and other important items you don’t want to risk losing or damaging.
Double-Check Hearing Aid Accessories
Hearing aid accessories may include but are not limited to:
- Extra batteries or charger
- Cleaning kit
- Dryer/dehumidifier for wet or humid environments
- Drying jar
- Wax guards
- Ear plugs
Create a packing list of these and any other hearing loss accessories you would like to bring. Your personal needs and preferences will determine what, if any, of these items are suitable for you. For instance, if you’re going to stay at the beach, a dehumidifier and dryer may be a wise choice to prevent water damage to your devices. Similarly, if you own rechargeable hearing aids, you may want to bring a portable charger. A packing list will help prevent left-behind items and last-minute panic.
Contact Oregon Ear, Nose & Throat Center today to speak to a hearing aid specialist about protecting your devices.