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Central Alabama ENT Associates
6980 Winton Blount Blvd Montgomery, AL 36117(334) 277-0484
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Travel Tips for the Hearing Impaired

Our team of specialists and staff believe that informed patients are better equipped to make decisions regarding their health and well being. For your personal use, we have created an extensive patient library covering an array of educational topics. Browse through these diagnoses and treatments to learn more about topics of interest to you. Or, for a more comprehensive search of our entire Web site, enter your term(s) in the search bar provided.

As always, you can contact our office to answer any questions or concerns.

Insight for hearing-impaired travelers

  • What are common problems?
  • What arrangements can be made?
  • How should hearing aids be handled when traveling?
  • and more...

Travel is an important aspect of our lives. Whether for business or vacation, traveling can be as stressful as it is enjoyable. And for more than 20 million people in the U.S. with hearing loss, travel can be especially difficult.

What are common problems?

  • Inability to hear or understand airline boarding and in-flight announcements;
  • Difficulty making reservations;
  • Inability to hear hotel room telephones, someone knocking on the door, or warning signals such as smoke alarms;
  • Difficulty using public telephones, hotel phones, cell phones etc.;
  • Inability to hear or understand scheduled events such as planned activities, tours, museum lectures, and live performances;
  • Lack of oral and/or sign language interpreters;
  • Lack of accommodations for hearing dogs.

What arrangements can be made?

  • Try to make all travel arrangements in advance. Once transportation arrangements have been made, request written confirmation to ensure that information is correct. Always inform the ticket representative that you are hearing-impaired.
  • If possible, meet with a travel agent to allow the opportunity for lip reading, or if necessary, written exchange to help confirm travel plans. Agents can contact airlines, hotels, and attractions to make necessary reservations.
  • Travel information and reservation services are also available on the internet. Be sure to print copies of important information such as confirmation numbers, reservations, and maps.
  • It is important to arrive early at the airport, bus terminal, or train station. Tell the agent at the boarding gate that you are hearing-impaired and need to be notified in person when it’s time to board.
  • Confirm the flight number and destination before boarding.
  • Inform the flight attendant that you are hearing-impaired and request that any in-flight announcements be communicated to you in person.

Many major airlines and transportation companies have Telecommunications Device for the Deaf (TDD) services to assist passengers. Hand-held personal communication devices provide the ability to send and receive text messages without the need to access public resources.

Is telephone assistance available?

All public telephones should now have a “blue grommet” attachment to the handset indicating it is compatible with the “T” switch in hearing aids. Some public phones have an amplifying headset. Or you may purchase a pocket amplifier from your audiologist or hearing aid dispenser. Cellular phones have solved many of these problems. All manufacturers have models that are also compatible with your hearing aid. You can search the internet by typing in “HAC phones” (hearing aid compatible) to get more information.

What other devices are helpful?

There are many visual alert systems and listening devices than can be useful while traveling.

  • Telephone amplifiers and induction couplers can be attached to public or hotel phones and can help increase the volume of the telephone. Induction couplers also make the telephone compatible with your hearing aid telecoil. Telephone manufacturers produce handsets such as the G6 and G66 which plug easily into any modular telephone. Using your own compatible cellular phone, however, not only eliminates these problems, but is also less expensive.
  • There are small portable visual alert systems available that flash light when the telephone rings or fire alarm sounds. These can be transported and easily installed in hotel rooms. In the U.S. they should be provided if you ask.
  • FM listening systems can provide direct amplification in large areas using radio frequency. They can help the hearing-impaired traveler listen to lectures, tours, etc., by simply having the speaker use a transmitter microphone, broadcasting the presentation over the air waves to the receiver.
  • Another technology is portable infrared systems which can be used with hotel televisions and radios. These transmit sound via invisible infrared light to a listener’s receiver.
  • Portable wake-up alarms can be used to flash a light or vibrate a bed or pillow. Cellular phones can also work as a vibrating alarm.
  • There are portable TV band radios that can be tuned to compatible TV channels and listened to through an earphone. You can set the volume to suit yourself and watch TV without disturbing others.

How should hearing aids be handled when traveling?

If you wear a hearing aid, be sure to pack extra batteries and tubing. These may be difficult to obtain in some places. It would be wise to take a dehumidifier for drying your hearing aids each night to prevent moisture problems, especially if your destination has a warm, humid climate.

There are many things that hearing-impaired people can do to help make their travels safe, comfortable, and enjoyable. Travel does not have to be avoided because of hearing loss. So plan ahead, inform your fellow travelers, transportation hosts, and hotel clerks that you are hearing-impaired, obtain any necessary devices—and enjoy yourself!

Lodging

  • Carry printed copies of lodging reservations, dates, and prices.
  • Inform the receptionist at the front desk that you are hearing-impaired. This is very important in case of emergency.
  • Certain major hotel chains now provide visual alerting devices to help the hearing-impaired traveler recognize the ring of the telephone, a knock on the door, or a fire/emergency alarm. It may be advisable, however, to contact the hotel in advance to make the necessary arrangements.

Inquire what resources are available for using the internet and e-mail.  Does the hotel provide wireless or wired access to the internet?  Do you need to bring your own laptop?  Is there a business office you can use for these purposes?


Learn More

  • Allergies
  • Dizziness
  • Ear Infection
  • Hearing Loss
  • Sinusitis
  • Sore Throat
  • Tinnitus

Patient Education

Patient Education
  • Ears
    • Child's Hearing Loss
    • Cholesteatoma
    • Cochlear Implants
    • Ear Plastic Surgery
    • Ear Tubes
    • Earaches
    • Ears and Altitude
    • Earwax
    • Quick Glossary for Good Ear Health
    • Autoimmune Inner Ear Disease
    • Better Ear Health
    • Buying a Hearing Aid
    • Child Screening
    • Chronic Otitis Media
    • Cochlear-Meningitis Vaccination
    • Day Care and Ear, Nose, and Throat Problems
    • Ear Infection and Vaccines
    • Your Genes and Hearing Loss
    • How the Ear Works
    • Hyperacusis
    • Know the Power of Sound
    • Noise-Induced Hearing Loss In Children
    • Pediatric Obesity
    • What You Should Know About Otosclerosis
    • When Your Child Has Tinnitus
    • Why Do Children Have Earaches?
    • Infant Hearing Loss
    • Noise and Hearing Protection
    • Perforated Eardrum
    • Swimmer's Ear
    • Tinnitus
    • Travel Tips for the Hearing Impaired
  • Throat
    • About Your Voice
    • Common Problems That Can Affect Your Voice
    • Day Care and Ear, Nose, and Throat
    • Can the Medications I Take Harm My Voice
    • Gastroesphageal Reflux (GERD)
    • How Allergies Affect your Child's Ears, Nose, and Throat
    • Keeping Your Voice Healthy
    • Laryngeal (Voice Box) Cancer
    • Laryngopharyngeal Reflux and Children
    • Nodules, Polyps, and Cysts
    • Pediatric GERD
    • Pediatric Obesity and Ear, Nose, and Throat Disorders
    • Special Care for Occupational and Professional Voice Users
    • Tips for Healthy Voices
    • Tonsillectomy Procedures
    • Tonsillitis
    • Tonsils and Adenoids PostOp
    • Vocal Cord Paralysis
    • GERD and LPR
    • Hoarseness
    • How the Voice Works
    • Secondhand Smoke
    • Sore Throats
    • Swallowing Disorders
    • Tonsils and Adenoids
    • Diet and Exercise Tips
  • Nose and Mouth
    • Allergies and Hay Fever
    • Antihistamines, Decongestants, and "Cold" Remedies
    • Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP)
    • Facial Sports Injuries
    • 20 Questions about Your Sinuses
    • Allergic Rhinitis (Hay Fever)
    • Allergic Rhinitis, Sinusitis, and Rhinosinusitis
    • Antibiotics and Sinusitis
    • Are We Through With Chew Yet?
    • Cleft Lip and Cleft Palate
    • Could My Child Have Sleep Apnea?
    • Day Care and Ear, Nose, and Throat Problems
    • Deviated Septum
    • Do I Have Sinusitis?
    • How Allergies Affect your Child's Ears, Nose, and Throat
    • Injection Snoreplasty
    • Pediatric Obesity
    • Sinus Headaches
    • Sinus Pain
    • Sinus Surgery
    • Sinusitis: Special Considerations for Aging Patients
    • Tips for Sinus Sufferers
    • Tongue-tie (Ankyloglossia)
    • Your Nose: The Guardian Of Your Lungs
    • Fungal Sinusitis
    • Laser Assisted Uvula Palatoplasty (LAUP)
    • Mouth Sores
    • Nasal Fractures
    • Nose Surgery
    • Nosebleeds
    • Post-Nasal Drip
    • Salivary Glands
    • Secondhand Smoke
    • Sinusitis
    • Smell and Taste
    • Smokeless Tobacco
    • Snoring
    • Stuffy Noses
    • TMJ Pain
    • Tonsils and Adenoids
  • Head and Neck
    • Bell's Palsy
    • Children and Facial Paralysis
    • Dizziness and Motion Sickness
    • Facial Plastic Surgery
    • Facial Sports Injuries
    • Children and Facial Trauma
    • Cleft Lip and Cleft Palate
    • Pediatric Head and Neck Tumors
    • Sinus Pain
    • Sinusitis
    • Fall Prevention
    • Head and Neck Cancer
    • Sinus Headaches
    • Thyroid Disorders and Surgery
    • TMJ
  • Cancer
    • Are We Through With Chew Yet?
    • Common Problems That Can Affect Your Voice
    • Laryngeal (Voice Box) Cancer
    • Pediatric Head and Neck Tumors
    • Pediatric Thyroid Cancer
    • Rhabdomyosarcoma
    • Head and Neck Cancer
    • Quiting Smokeless Tobacco
    • Secondhand Smoke
    • Skin Cancer
    • Smokeless Tobacco
  • Pediatric
    • Child's Hearing Loss
    • Children and Facial Paralysis
    • Facial Sports Injuries
    • Allergic Rhinitis (Hay Fever)
    • Child Screening
    • Children and Facial Trauma
    • Cochlear-Meningitis Vaccination
    • Could My Child Have Sleep Apnea?
    • Day Care and Ear, Nose, and Throat
    • How Allergies Affect your Child's Ears, Nose, and Throat
    • Laryngopharyngeal Reflux and Children
    • Noise-Induced Hearing Loss In Children
    • Pediatric Food Allergies
    • Pediatric GERD
    • Pediatric Head and Neck Tumors
    • Pediatric Obesity and Ear, Nose, and Throat Disorders
    • Pediatric Thyroid Cancer
    • When Your Child Has Tinnitus
    • Why Do Children Have Earaches?
    • Pediatric Sinusitis
    • Secondhand Smoke and Children
  • Información de Salud en Español
    • Colesteatoma
    • Diábolos Estudio acerca de causas y opciones terapéuticas
    • Doctor? ¿Por Qué a Mi Hijo Le Duele El Oído?
    • Doctor? ¿Qué Causa El Ruido En El Oído?
    • El Humo del Tabaco Ambiental y los Niños
    • La pérdida de la audición
    • Otitis Media Crónica (Infección del Oído Medio) e Hipocusia
    • Perfóracion Timpánica
    • Qué Debe Saber Acerca de la Otoesclerosis
    • Screening de Audición en Niños
    • Sirvan Las Amigdalas Y Los Adenoides?
    • Amigdalitis
    • Rinitis alérgica, sinusitis y rinosinusitis
    • Implantes cocleares
    • Problemas comunes que pueden afectar a su voz
    • ¿Tengo sinusitis?
    • Cera en los oídos
    • Reflujo Gastroesofágico (ERGE)
    • Las fracturas nasales
    • Nódulos, pólipos y quistes
    • Hemorragias nasales
    • Glosario para una buena salud del oído

Our Location

6980 Winton Blount Blvd
Montgomery, AL 36117
(334) 277-0484

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ENT Doctor In Montgomery, AL Central Alabama ENT Associates 6980 Winton Blount Blvd Montgomery, AL 36117 Phone: (334) 277-0484 Call For Fax Call For Pricing
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