Don’t take your eyes off the road. Naturally, it’s good advice, but it doesn’t speak to your other senses. Your ears, for instance, are doing tons of work while you’re driving, helping you keep track of other vehicles, alerting you to information on your dashboard, and keeping you connected with the other individuals in your vehicle.
So when you’re coping with hearing loss, the way you drive can change. That doesn’t automatically mean you will need to quit driving because you’ve become excessively dangerous. When it comes to safety, inexperience and distracted driving are far bigger liabilities. That said, those with declining hearing should take some specific precautions to stay as safe as possible.
Hearing loss can impact your situational awareness but developing safe driving habits can help you stay safe while driving.
How your driving may be effected by hearing loss
Vision is the principal sense utilized when driving. Even complete hearing loss most likely won’t keep you from driving, but it very likely may change the way you drive. After all, you use your hearing a lot while you’re driving. Here are some typical examples:
- Your vehicle will often make audible noises and alerts in order to make you aware of something (turn signals or unbuckled seat belts, for instance).
- Emergency vehicles can usually be heard before they can be seen.
- If another motorist needs to make you aware of their presence, they will often beep their horn. For example, if you begin to drift into another lane or you don’t go at a green light, a horn can make you aware of your mistake before bad things take place.
- Your hearing will often alert you when your car has some kind of malfunction. If your motor is rapping or you have an exhaust leak, for instance.
- Even though most vehicles are designed to decrease road noise, your sense of hearing can raise your awareness of other vehicles. For instance, you will normally be able to hear a large truck coming your way.
By using all of these audio cues, you will be developing better situational awareness. You may begin to miss more and more of these audio cues as your hearing loss progresses. But there are measures you can take to ensure you still remain as safe as you can while driving.
Practicing new safe driving habits
It’s no problem if you want to keep driving even after developing hearing loss! Here are some ways you can make sure to stay safe while driving:
- Pay extra attention to your mirrors: Even with sirens blaring, you may not hear that ambulance coming up behind you. So be vigilant about checking your mirrors. And generally try to keep an elevated awareness for emergency vehicles.
- Minimize in-car noises: It will be challenging for your ears to distinguish sounds when you have hearing loss. When the wind is blowing and your passenger is talking, it could become easy for your ears to get overwhelmed, which can cause you to become distracted and tired. So put up your window, turn down the music, and keep conversations to a minimum when driving.
- Put away your phone: Well, this is wise advice whether you suffer from hearing loss or not. Today, one of the leading causes of distraction is a cellphone. And with hearing loss that distraction is at least doubled. Keeping your phone stowed can, simply, keep you safer–and save your life.
- Keep an eye on your instrument panel: Normally, your car will beep or ding when you need to look at your instrument panel for some reason. So regularly look down to see if any dash lights are on.
How to keep your hearing aid ready for driving
If you are dealing with hearing loss, driving is one of those situations where wearing a hearing aid can really help. And there are several ways you can make sure your hearing aid is a real asset when you’re driving:
- Ask us for a “driving” setting: We can program a car setting into your hearing aid if you do a lot of driving. The size of the interior of your vehicle and the fact that your passengers will be talking to you from the side or rear will be the variables we will use to fine tune this “car setting” for smoother safer driving.
- Keep your hearing aids clean, updated, and charged: When you’re on your way to the store, the last thing you want is for your battery to die. That can distract you and could even lead to a dangerous situation. So be sure everything is in good working order and the batteries are charged.
- Each time you drive, wear your hearing aid: It’s not going to help you if you don’t wear it! So every time you drive, make certain you’re wearing your hearing aids. This will also help your brain get used to the signals your hearing aid sends into your ears.
Lots of individuals with hearing loss continue to drive and hearing aids make the process easier and safer. Establishing good driving habits can help guarantee that your drive is pleasant and that your eyes stay safely on the road.