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Travel Assistance for the Hard of Hearing
The world doesn’t always seem a very accommodating place for people who have suffered hearing loss. It’s not uncommon for people to isolate themselves because of the inability to engage in conversations in places like restaurants and during family gatherings. Really good news for the hard of hearing, however, is that there are many provisions made to assist those with hearing loss when traveling.
Potential problems related to travel
People who are hard of hearing are often tempted to avoid travel because of obvious challenges they will face. The following are a few of the issues that arise when planning or going on a trip:
- Making reservations can be difficult.
- Accommodations are often not available for hearing dogs.
- Making calls from hotel telephones, public phones, and cell phones can be difficult.
- You may not be able to hear when someone knocks on your hotel door, and you could also miss phone calls and smoke alarms, as well as other warning signals.
- When flying, you may not hear or understand boarding announcements or in-flight announcements.
- If you go on planned activities, such as tours, museum lectures, and live performances, you may not be able to hear or understand.
Travel help for people with hearing loss
Obviously, you face challenges as a person with hearing loss, but there are many forms of assistance available to help you overcome those difficulties. The following are some of the resources that have been made available for people who are hard of hearing:
- Many transportation companies, including major airlines, use Telecommunications Device for the Deaf (TDD) services, in order to provide assistance to passengers. A TDD is a teleprinter which communicates over a phone line as a way of communicating with people who have hearing or speech difficulties.
- Public telephones, for the most part, are now equipped with a blue grommet attachment to the handset, which indicates that it is compatible with the telephone program or T switch in hearing aids.
- Induction couplers and telephone amplifiers can also be used to help increase telephone volume, and they can be helpful when using a hotel or public phone.
- Visual alert systems are available that flash light when a fire alarm goes off or a phone rings. These are compact and easy to transport. In the U.S., they can be provided for you in many hotel rooms, upon request.
- FM listening systems are able to provide direct amplification in spacious areas making use of a radio frequency. This makes it possible for the traveler who is hard of hearing to listen to tours and lectures.
- To accommodate listening to hotel televisions and radios, portable infrared systems can be used. They transmit sound to a listener’s receiver by way of an unseen infrared light.
- Compact wake-up alarms provide wake-up calls by vibrating a pillow or bed or by flashing a light. Many cell phones are also useful as vibrating alarms.
In addition to all of these available resources, there are many steps that an individual can take to make traveling easier and more enjoyable. It’s great to realize, however, that travelers with hearing loss are not alone. Plenty of helpful devices and innovations make pleasant travel completely viable for people who are hard of hearing.
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