What to bring and how to keep your hearing aids safe during travel. Traveling with hearing aids doesn’t have to be stressful! Your hearing aids are essential, and if you forget to pack them, they can’t be easily replaced at your destination.
Things to pack
- Your hearing aids! — If you aren’t wearing them when you leave your house, make sure that you pack them in an easily accessible bag. They should never be placed into checked luggage, because if your bag gets lost in transit, not having your hearing aids can seriously impact your trip.
- Extra batteries or charger — Pack enough batteries to last you for the duration of your trip. This way you won’t have to spend time searching for a store that sells hearing aid batteries while you are away from home. If your hearing aids are rechargeable, make sure to pack the charger and the necessary cords. Hearing aid chargers can be difficult to replace, so we recommend placing it into your carry-on bag.
- Converter — If you are traveling internationally, make sure you have an adapter that will work with your hearing aid charger.
- Hearing aid dryer — A hearing aid dehumidifier will come in handy if you are heading on a beach vacation. Humidity and sweat can cause your hearing aids to malfunction, which may put a damper on your trip.
- Storage case — We recommend bringing a storage case for your hearing aids with you. This ensures you have someplace safe to store them when you take them out of your ears during travel, or in hotel rooms.
- Cleaning supplies — Depending on the length of your travels, you may want to pack extra wax filters, dome tips, and cleaning supplies.
- Accessories — Mics and bluetooth connectivity accessories that you expect to use should also be packed within your carry-on luggage.
In the terminal
Airports, train stations, and bus terminals are often crowded and noisy. These environments can be overwhelming for anyone. If you are wearing hearing aids and are overwhelmed by the sound, its OK to turn down the volume on your hearing aids. Overlapping noise can make it difficult to hear travel announcements, converse with your travel companions, and communicate with TSA agents.
Keep your eyes out for a sign that the travel terminal you are in utilizes a telecoil. Telecoil systems can stream announcements or other important information directly in to compatible hearing aids. If you are traveling alone, this can be essential to hearing important information.
When going through airport security, you do not need to remove your hearing aids when going through a metal detector or full-body scanner. If your hearing aids are in your carry-on bag, you do not typically need to remove them. The TSA officer may wish to conduct additional screening on them, but that will be discretionary. X-rays, handheld screeners, and metal detectors will not harm your hearing aids, so there is no need for concern going through airport security.
On an airplane
Hearing aids are exempted from electronic devices that must be turned off during takeoff and landing. This means that you can keep them on for the duration of the flight.
For short flights, we recommend wearing your hearing aids for the duration of the flight. For longer flights, we suggest storing them in your hearing aid storage case, inside your carry-on bag. We do not recommend putting them in the seat-back pocket, because it’s easy to forget them when you get off the plane.
Make sure to have your hearing aids on while the flight crew is giving safety instructions. Even if you’ve heard them before, its always good to be aware of emergency exits and procedures. If there is a crying baby onboard, or you are sitting near the engine, take advantage of any noise-reduction feature on your hearing aids. Engine noise is typically loudest toward the back of the plane; so choosing a seat near the front can reduce noise exposure.
Happy and safe travels!