As the holiday season approaches, a lot of people are going to be traveling to see friends and family. For me that means short trips in Portland, Gresham, Salem, and Corbett. For some people it’s flights across the country or the world. While the destination is worth it, travel that involves the airport can be stressful. And when a person has hearing loss, the stress can be amplified. In this post I want to give you everything you need to have a successful flight in or out of Portland International Airport (PDX).
The Basics
We’ll get into the hearing loss-specific tips soon, but it’s important not to overlook the basic airport tips that help everyone get through the airport. Why does that matter? Let’s start with some basic brain science. Your brain has one pool of energy for everything it needs to do. That means stressing about finding your gate and trying to listen for gate announcements are both competing for the same mental energy.
First off, know how the airport is laid out and where you need to go. You can find a map of PDX airport HERE so you can plan your trip from parking to take-off. Plan out your path, what security section you’re going to go through, and where your gate is. Even small things like locating nearby restrooms and your favorite coffee stand ahead of time can reduce the stress of your trip. Second, get to the airport early. Giving yourself extra time to get through security and find your plane will take off some pressure and give you more brain power for hearing what you need to hear.
Wear Your Hearing Aids
With the basics down, let’s talk about being successful at the airport with hearing loss and hearing aids. The first tip may sound obvious, but it’s the most important. Wear your hearing aids the whole time you’re in the airport. And yes, that means even through TSA. As medical devices, hearing aids aren’t the same as headphones, smartphones, or other personal items. You don’t have to take them off when you go through security. Simply let your TSA agent know you have them on and you’re good to go. They are important for you to have as you interact with the TSA agents and they won’t be damaged by the body scanner, X-ray machine, or anything else you may need to pass through.
Keep Your Charger and Accessories With You
It may seem like the safest way to bring your hearing aid charging case and accessories like remote microphones is to pack them in your checked luggage. But you need to keep them with you in your carry-on. First, many charging cases and accessories have built-in lithium batteries. Devices with lithium batteries cannot be checked, so you may run into issues if you try to check your charger or other devices. But there’s a more practical reason, too. We all know the stories of passengers who arrive at their destination, but their checked bags don’t. That’s a bummer in any case, but if your hearing aid charger is in that lost bag, you’re going to be dealing with dead hearing aids within a few hours. So, keep it all with you and you know everything you need will be with you.
Bring a Case
Whether you use rechargeable hearing aids or not, have a case with you to put your hearing aids in. Like I said earlier, you should have your hearing aids in your ears, but if you have to take them out for some reason, you want a safe place to keep them. The majority of cases of my patients losing their hearing aids don’t involve them falling out of their ears. Instead, hearing aids get lost when people take them out and put them loose in a pocket or a purse. Think of all the times you are getting in and out of your pockets and purse at the airport. A loose hearing aid getting caught on your ring or your keys can come out of that pocket and end up on the floor without you ever noticing. Whether their in a charger or a plain case, hearing aids that aren’t in your ears will stay safe.
What Else to Bring
I try to travel as light as I can, but on any trip there are a few necessities, and traveling with hearing aids is no different. While you don’t need to pack everything and the kitchen sink, there are a few key items I recommend. If you use RIC or in-the-ear hearing aids, having a pack of spare wax traps is always a good idea. If you have your hearing aids, but they’re plugged up with wax, that’s not better than not having them at all. If you use dome earpieces then having a few spares of those can be helpful, too. I don’t generally recommend my patients replace their own domes, but when traveling, better safe than sorry. Basic cleaning supplies are another nice-to-have accessory. A soft cloth and a small brush will make sure your devices keep working for you, especially if you’re going to be somewhere with dust or dirt. Finally, if you use standard batteries, make sure you have spare batteries with you.
Bring the Right Chargers
If you’re traveling abroad, make sure the chargers for your hearing aids and accessories will work in that country’s outlets. Having your charger but no power adapter will do you no good. And while you can generally get adapters at the airport, you’ll be paying a premium for it. Most chargers use a USB cable plugged into the adapter, so you can get a universal adapter that has a USB-A plug on it. If you want to know more, HERE is a handy guide from REI.
Know Your Accessibility Options
PDX (and most airports) aim to provide accommodations for travelers with hearing loss. You can find Portland International Airport’s accessibility guide for hearing HERE. Of note, several information counters in the baggage area are equipped with telecoil (or T-coil) for travelers who have compatible hearing aids. This will allow you to get a cleaner audio signal and block out some background noise. Not sure if you have T-coil in your hearing aids? Reach out to your hearing health professional before your trip.
PDX has also installed monitors around the airport that visually display any announcements made over the airport PA system. Things like gate changes and lost and found announcements can be seen on these screens if you miss the audio version. You can also see all of the recent PA announcements on THIS PDX website, so you never miss an update.
Advocate for Yourself
Finally, and what can be the most uncomfortable tip, is to advocate for yourself. Airport and airline staff are trained on how to support you. But if they don’t know you have a hearing loss they don’t know how to help. From the ticketing counter, through security, to the gate, you should let everyone you interact with know you have a hearing loss. Try going even one step further and tell them what your specific challenges are. Tell them you need to see their face when they talk to you, or that you’re worried you will miss the boarding call at the gate.
When you get to your gate I especially recommend telling the gate attendant about your hearing loss. They will be able to support you as you wait for - and board - your plane. They can help make sure you know when your boarding group is called. They can alert you of any schedule or gate changes as they come up. Whatever happens, they can help give you the piece of mind you need for a successful flight.
You’ve Got This!
We covered a lot in this post, but the biggest takeaways are these:
Be prepared
Bring your kit
Use your resources
Traveling can be stressful, especially around the holidays, but you’re an expert in your hearing health journey and you know what you need better than anyone else out there. Use that expertise to prepare for and have the trip you deserve - with peace of mind and confidence. There are a lot of things you can’t control on a holiday trip - like what topics come up at the Thanksgiving dinner table - but I hope this will at least help you feel more in control of your holiday journey.
Dr. Bryan Greenaway is the owner and audiologist at Sono Audiology, serving Gresham and Portland, Oregon. He also runs Orelo Hearing, which creates online courses that help hearing aid users become active partners in their hearing health.
