How to Take Your Hearing Aid on Holiday

Our clients often ask us questions around this time of year regarding travelling with their hearing aids:

• Is it alright to wear hearing aids whilst flying?
• Will they hurt my ears on the plane?
• Will they set the security scanners off at the airport?

The basic response to these questions is simply to encourage clients to carry on regardless. Hearing aids don't seem to upset security scanners in any way, and will work perfectly well in an aeroplane, although with the high noise levels generated when flying, it is sometimes more comfortable to switch them off during the flight. Any discomfort that comes during flying is related to the air space behind the eardrum, not the ear canal, and as such, the hearing aids will not cause any discomfort as pressure changes occur. If clients do feel any pain in their ears, this is more likely on decent, as this happens more rapidly. In this scenario, moving the jaw as much as possible will help to open up the airways and equalise the pressure. Eating chewy sweets or chewing gum are often the best ways of doing this. Perhaps the one precaution that we could suggest when flying to hot and sunny climates would be to encourage clients to take a drying kit with them. This is simply a device that helps to dry out any moisture or sweat that may collect in the hearing aid. It can make a big difference and stop any damage occurring in the aid. So, our advice is to pop in and pick up one of these kits before you go. After all, you don't want your hearing aid to need a second holiday on your return!