People with hearing loss have special challenges when they travel. I've written about some of them here.
But travel is difficult for virtually everyone and tips that work for those with hearing loss may work for others as well.
Here's my checklist:
Be Prepared! The Boy Scouts were right. Make sure you have your ticket, your boarding pass, your reservation and confirmation numbers all in one easily accessed place. In that same special file, keep your itinerary, your hotel reservations, your car reservations, addresses and telephone numbers for every single hotel, airline and personal contact. Even if you can't make a call, someone can make it for you.
Whatever is taken out of the special file MUST be put back in. That way everything is there when you need it.
Be meticulous. Take a lesson from me. Traveling to San Francisco recently, I made a hotel reservation at the airport Hilton Garden Inn. As I stood at the freezing cold bus stop, watching one hotel courtesy van after another go by, it began to dawn on me that there were FOUR Hilton Garden Inns. I had no idea which one I was staying in. I couldn't use the courtesy phone because the surroundings were much to loud for me to hear what the person on the other end was saying. I finally texted a friend who looked it up for me. It was the Hilton Garden Inn: Burlingame.
If you're computer savvy, make your reservations on line, which will allow you to choose airline seats and compare fares, not to mention read reviews of hotels and sightseeing recommendations.
If you're not comfortable making reservations on line, use a travel agent who specializes in making reservations for people with disabilities.
Disabledtravelers.com is a great resource, listing among other things travel agents who specialize in helping people with disabilities, tour operators, and so on. There are many resources for disabled travelers on line, though most of them are geared towards people with mobility problems. This one is a good place to start.
Bring everything! Even though it's cumbersome, bring all your assistive listening devices. Don't forget the chargers. And don't forget a converter if you're traveling overseas.
I went with a small group to China recently. The tour guide wore my FM transmitter and I wore the receiver. I heard every word, even in crowded noisy market places and museums.
Don't forget hearing aid batteries. Bring an old hearing aid as a backup.
But travel is difficult for virtually everyone and tips that work for those with hearing loss may work for others as well.
Here's my checklist:
Be Prepared! The Boy Scouts were right. Make sure you have your ticket, your boarding pass, your reservation and confirmation numbers all in one easily accessed place. In that same special file, keep your itinerary, your hotel reservations, your car reservations, addresses and telephone numbers for every single hotel, airline and personal contact. Even if you can't make a call, someone can make it for you.
Whatever is taken out of the special file MUST be put back in. That way everything is there when you need it.
Be meticulous. Take a lesson from me. Traveling to San Francisco recently, I made a hotel reservation at the airport Hilton Garden Inn. As I stood at the freezing cold bus stop, watching one hotel courtesy van after another go by, it began to dawn on me that there were FOUR Hilton Garden Inns. I had no idea which one I was staying in. I couldn't use the courtesy phone because the surroundings were much to loud for me to hear what the person on the other end was saying. I finally texted a friend who looked it up for me. It was the Hilton Garden Inn: Burlingame.
If you're computer savvy, make your reservations on line, which will allow you to choose airline seats and compare fares, not to mention read reviews of hotels and sightseeing recommendations.
If you're not comfortable making reservations on line, use a travel agent who specializes in making reservations for people with disabilities.
Disabledtravelers.com is a great resource, listing among other things travel agents who specialize in helping people with disabilities, tour operators, and so on. There are many resources for disabled travelers on line, though most of them are geared towards people with mobility problems. This one is a good place to start.
Bring everything! Even though it's cumbersome, bring all your assistive listening devices. Don't forget the chargers. And don't forget a converter if you're traveling overseas.
I went with a small group to China recently. The tour guide wore my FM transmitter and I wore the receiver. I heard every word, even in crowded noisy market places and museums.
Don't forget hearing aid batteries. Bring an old hearing aid as a backup.
Here's a picture of my stuff!
In addition to laptop and cell phone chargers, this includes cochlear implant battery charger, FM transmitter and receiver and various other things that I can't identify. I also brought the power strip, since I figured no hotel would have anywhere enough outlets. The equipment almost needed its own suitcase.
And here's me, halfway up the Great Wall. Still wearing the FM receiver even though there's no one in transmission range.
Ladies and camels in the Taklamakan Desert of Western China. Well covered up to protect faces, eyes and hearing aids against the blowing sand.