Summer Travel and Your Hearing Health: What You Need to Know

Summer is a great time for getting together with family and friends and traveling. You may want to forget about your responsibilities and relax without any worries. However, you’ll still need to think about your hearing health. If you’re someone who uses a hearing aid or another assistive device, you’ll need to plan ahead for your summer of fun. Here are some great tips for staying on top of your hearing health as you travel.

Visit Your Audiologist

Book an appointment with your audiologist before you travel on holiday. It’s important to check that nothing has altered in your hearing health and your hearing devices are still providing you with the best treatment. It’s also a great opportunity to ask your audiologist any questions about your hearing health and best practices for traveling. Summer can come with some challenges for those with hearing loss and hearing aids. Here’s what you should be aware of.

Swimming

No matter where you decide to travel to, most people end up by the side of a pool or on a beach. Swimming is a fantastic way to have some fun, but it can cause damage to your ears and your hearing aids. Remember to take your hearing aids out before getting in the water so you the battery and microphone aren’t damaged.

When your swimming, try to avoid getting water in your ears. All water contains bacteria that can cause ear infections. It can help to wear ear protectors while swimming to ensure your ears stay dry. You’ll then be safe to put your hearing aids back in when you leave the water.

Sweat And Moisture

There’s no denying that everyone sweats when they’re in a hot environment. There’s also an increase in condensation when the temperature is high. If too much moisture gets into your hearing devices, they may stop working properly. You can protect your devices by keeping them in a case when they aren’t in use and sitting in the shade to avoid getting too hot. If you plan on exercising while in a hot climate, it can help to remove your hearing aids until you’ve finished, and your body temperature reduces.

Noise Protection

To reduce the chances of damaging your hearing further, it’s important to avoid excessive noise. When you travel, there are many opportunities to sit and watch live shows or listen to loud music, but it could be damaging for your hearing health. If you find yourself somewhere where the noise is loud and you’re concerned for your hearing, it can help to turn the volume down on your hearing aid.

Alternatively, you may want to remove your hearing aid completely and use noise protection like earmolds or earplugs. There are many ways you can still enjoy live shows without having to listen to loud noises.

Spare Batteries

When you travel, you want to spend quality time with the people and explore new cultures. That can be difficult to do when your hearing aid battery isn’t working well. For instance, if you’re traveling to attend a family wedding abroad, it’s a good opportunity to catch up with people you haven’t seen for a while, but you can’t engage in conversation if your hearing aid isn’t working.

Before you travel, make sure you take plenty of spare batteries with you and pick up some extra cleaners, filters and domes while you can too.

Sunscreen

Using sunscreen while traveling abroad is important for your skin health. Spending your holiday sunburnt will be miserable so make sure you pack plenty of sunscreen for the whole family. The downside to sunscreen for hearing aid users is it can accidentally make its way into the device.

Creams and oils can easily seep through seams in your hearing aid and damage your microphone, ports or vents. You don’t want to have to use a damaged hearing aid throughout your holiday. It can help to remove the device before applying sunscreen and make sure there’s as little cream on your ears as possible.

How To Prevent Hearing Issues

You can prevent hearing issues by keeping your hearing aid in a protective case at night and keeping it away from any type of moisture. Keep your ears dry when swimming and showering and wear earplugs around loud noises. If you need to see an audiologist before traveling or want to learn more about how to protect your hearing during the summer, contact Alliance Center for Hearing at (701) 401-9719 today.