I recognise this problem and used to fly multipul times a week.
The way I handled it was to mainly wear headphone and the only sound I had was the music I wanted to listen to, all the noise and illegible announcements used to get me stressed.
I would navigate the airport using the airline app and information boards, other than that when arriving at the lounge or the gate I would ask for confirmation from staff or other passengers to make sure the gate / boarding info on the screens or app was correct.
I did make that trip. My daughter was gifted a ticket to accompany me, and flying with a hearing person made things much more enjoyable. Had I been alone, I would definitely been confused. There was no seating left at the departure gate for the return flight, and we had to sit in an adjacent area. I forgot to remove my tablet from my carry-on and could not understand what the inspector was saying. Having someone with me made all the difference.
Yes yes yes. Airports now treat you like cattle. Except they don’t use cattle-prods because they get your money even if you miss the “wah wah” and your flight.
Claiming “Handicap!” (in advance is best) makes it an ADA issue and now you are a VIP. I assume the first staffer you find is trained to spot the “assist” mark on your pass and to whistle-up your assistant. Cup your ear and say “What?” a lot so they know how to deal with you. Yes, they may slap you in a wheelchair, because that is their universal answer to “any” handicap— blind stupid or lame. Sit back and enjoy the ride. The pushers know how tight the connection is and know all the short-cuts, can pass check-points quickly, and must turn you over to gate staff with info what flight you need to get aboard.
My Dad does not walk like he used to. Mom booked him “handicap” for a bad transfer at O’Hara. They were very glad. They would not have made the connection without their guide/pusher, it’s just a nasty airport.
My last flights were on a 707 and a B-17; neither had airport apps. (B-17 didn’t even use a gate.) It sounds like a great idea. Maybe a friend can install the app and let you track some current flight from curb to gate through connection then gate to bags/meeting-lobby.
Cellphones need NOT be a big expense for light users. WalMart sold me a $60 phone+plan I wanted for a 2-day 2-car drive, a throwaway. I used that for years. I just got a slick Android from TracFone for $20 w/30days for $15, $39 taxed and delivered. (It is “refurbished”; these are usually un-used customer returns which have been tested and re-boxed.) I pay $99-$119 for 365 days of cell-service, so less than half a buck a day to have a phone in my pocket for crisis (running late, etc). I don’t even need the cell-service to hang around the home wi-fi and watch cat videos on YouTube. (Even without paid service it will call 911.)
I regularly tell the TSA people that I have a hearing impairment because they’re in a noisy environment and they tend to mumble and get aggressive and even abusive when you don’t jump to their command.
Like paulrreid is saying, let them know you have a handicap. Most will be helpful.
Is there a special status you can claim when you ticket? That would be great.
They are “required” to assist with handicaps. While ADA is the background, specific regulations come from Dept of Transportation. A summary:
Looks like two classes of handicap:
Need a push (can’t walk great)
Need a guide (can’t see/hear/understand great)
Most of us here should say “Handicap, need guide, deaf”. (They don’t need to know how deaf; they should be aware that calling your name may not work and they should have your name on a sign.)
“section 382.93 requires carriers to board passengers with disabilities who self-identify at the gate as needing to preboard for one of the listed reasons to board the plane before all other passengers”
It is not clear to me this means hard-of-hearing always goes first. (The link says sometimes this does not happen even for chair-users.) If you can follow hand-waving they could just make sure you get in line with the rest of the general passengers. But low-level staff are not lawyers, so saying “Pre-Board?” and cupping your ear may be enough to get you in ahead of the mob so you can be shown to your seat in relative calm.
Bring pad and pencil (and readers) so when they keep saying "*i*** gate" you can point your ear “What?”, hold out the pad, and get "sixth" written out.
With the rise of self-booking the option to check-off “Handicap” may be obscure or missing. Look for “Special Assistance” (sounds better than crippled). If you don’t get a choice in booking, call the airline, they should set the assistance status on your booking.
I did not know this: “If you need wheelchair assistance, a friend or family member is welcome to assist you on your way to/from the gate area. Just have them stop by the ticket counter to obtain an escort pass.” Presumably this could let your kin/friend claim “Escort” and deliver you a lot closer to the gate.
“Tip your wheelchair attendant(s). Many wheelchair attendants in the US are paid below minimum wage.” I assume non-pushing Guide pay is the same.
Amen! Yes! I agree with your ENTIRE advice set forth above! Both of us have difficulty walking distances like those between airport points and the airlines have always gotten us wheelchairs. In fact, if you forget to ask in advance (which is always the better course) we have found that in a pinch you can tell the baggage handlers that await you on the sidewalk on dropoff and they will get you wheelchairs. One additional person to generously tip but well worth it! The wheelchair service not only gets you from point to point in the airport without dangerously raising your heart rate and blood pressure. but also protects you from getting knocked over by younger, well-intentioned commuters unintentionally getting pushy while trying to get to their job on time. That happened to my father-in-law a few years ago and the bump caused him to lose his balance and he fell and broke his leg during a plane change midway to his destination. Not the way to wind up in that wheelchair, ironically!
Let the airline know that you need assistance. It is very easy and a sure fire way to make sure you are ok. Ask for help and you will get it. Trying to muddle through on your own will cause problems/anxiety. Of course a bit of homework before you go is always a good idea. Happy flying and relax! It will be fine!
When l reach the gate area, l tell the agent that l am deaf and do not understand their PA system. They let me board the plane at the same time as the wheelchair flyers. The other fliers wondered why l got on the plane before they do!
When I read your original post, I could understand immediately why, even when you didn’t mention anything about sound or hearing concerns. I severe-to-profound hearing loss myself, and I cannot watch a movie without subtitles nor understand most of the things that go on a PA system.
So, for the longest time, I avoided airplane travel or solo travel in general, because I didn’t want to miss out on important information (like planes getting delayed or gates being changed); I’ve only flown by myself once, but it is within the country, where I am still OK with our local accent.
Reading the many posts in this thread, I see a lot of people suggesting using assistance. I’m familiar with wheelchair assistance, but I don’t know if there’s any assistance for hearing impairment. I’m going to check it out next time. I hope to do a solo travel this year or the next. Hopefully I can get past the anxiety.
I always let them know at the gate that I had a hearing problem. I would get to the gate early and be one of the first to talk to them at the gate check in. My tickets were always arranged by my company and I am not sure if the company would ever make such notes.
The airlines now have a large LCD screen on the back of every seat. I don’t know if there are subtitles for movies but you could try using your Android phone with Google Live Transcript app.
I’m not sure you can use Live Transcribe for subtitles, since the audio has to be exposed/heard by the mobile phone for Live Transcribe to work. In most cases, you need to use the headphones provided by the airline, and this is plugged-in to the seat. I’m not aware if there are other options.
The airlines out of Canada now seem to be going to a wireless entertainment system that requires you bring your own tablet, or your reading glasses and your cell phone! And for us hearing aid users I don’t think we can get the sound if we actually put the phone in Airplane mode – which kills Bluetooth.
I haven’t tried Live Transcript app by using a headphone next to phone. Turning up the headphones will not work because the next passenger can hear it. I would try a streamer device plugged into plane audio jack to hear the sounds. I can lipread movie screen depending on distance.
