Are you or a family member affected by hearing loss but still want to drive? With these tips, you will be able to drive safely.
Trying to live a routine life with hearing loss can be difficult. Not being able to hear a person talking to you in a conversation has to be infuriating. One of the everyday tasks that you need hearing for is driving. Of course, knowing how to drive is crucial, but to the average person, we never think about how important hearing is to complete this task. Listening for the honking of a car’s horn or listening out for emergency vehicles is necessary when driving. With hearing loss, you might not be able to hear these audio clues and could injure yourself or another driver or cyclist. In this post, we will go over a few tips about how those with hearing loss can drive safely and regain the freedom of driving.
Avoiding Distractions
Whether you have hearing loss or not, driving while distracted is a big no-no while on the road. Trying to focus on another person’s voice while driving is difficult if you have hearing loss, it’ll be even more difficult for you to hear the person on the other end. There’s a reason texting while driving and talking on the phone while driving has caused laws to go into effect to stop people from doing this. Driving distracted has caused numerous injuries, some of them serious and even death. If you have hearing loss and someone is trying to call you, pull off to the side of the road or park in a public parking space. If someone texts you while driving wait until you’ve reached your destination to answer them back. No text or phone call is worth injuring yourself or another motorist.
Pay Attention
Even though your hearing is affected to drive safely, keep your eyes open. Use all three of your mirrors to monitor other cars and pedestrians. Also, make sure to keep an eye on traffic signals and signs so you can match the flow of traffic. Unknown by some people because of hearing loss it’s difficult for a person with it to determine the distance of moving cars. If you’re in this situation, use your eyes to help protect yourself and those around you. Even when you’re not driving, you have to pay attention. When walking, make sure that you have your hearing aid in so you can listen out for cars when crossing the street.
Keep the Music Down
As stated in other blogs, loud music can damage your hearing after an extended period. Not only that, but it can be a distraction and make it hard to listen out for sound cues. If you have your music up too loud, you might not be able to hear any emergency vehicles or police cars. You must be able to listen out for their sirens so you can get out of their way as soon as possible.
Trust the Experts at Clarity Audiology & Hearing Solutions
Need help with your hearing? Clarity Hearing can help. Clarity Audiology & Hearing Solutions is an independently owned and operated clinic that focuses on quality of care and personalized friendly service. Our Doctors of Audiology are highly trained with advanced degrees and take the time to provide the personalized care and attention that you need and deserve. We provide advanced hearing aid options that personally calibrated with cutting-edge digital technology to fit your hearing loss, your unique ear anatomy, and your individual listening needs.
Come in for a walk-in appointment on Tuesdays & Fridays from 10:00 am to 11:30 am or contact us to schedule an appointment by calling 410-698-6594 or visiting our contact page. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and LinkedIn for more blog posts, news, and updates!