Amusement Parks

My Story: Everyone loves amusement parks! They have something for people of all ages and it’s always such a thrilling experience. However, for someone who wears hearing aids, amusement parks can be problematic. Many of the rides at amusement parks can potentially cause hearing aids to fall out of your ears. Trust me, I know this from experience! When I was younger, my family and I took a trip to our local Six Flags. One of the rides we went on was a really high roller coaster. The ride was so intense that my body was bouncing back and forth in the secured seat. Naturally, your body and head rocks while riding these types of rides, even if you are properly secured. When the roller coaster reached the top of the ride, my head began bouncing against the seat (which I was actually too small for). The next thing I know, I couldn’t hear and start crying. My left hearing aid had literally fallen out of my ear and there was nothing but water underneath us on the ride. Of course, I panicked and was immediately upset! I couldn’t hear, and I instantly lost interest in the ride. Once the ride finally ended, my mom looked at me so confused as to why I was crying. She was seated next to me in the ride in a double-like seat and immediately jumped up to find out what was wrong. As soon as she stood up, I noticed my hearing aid was sitting on her side of the seat. My hearing aid landed under her booty on the seat! I have absolutely no idea how that happened. Maybe it was just pure luck! Whatever it was, I am forever thankful that I didn’t lose my hearing aid that day. That experience taught my family a great lesson on how to keep my hearing aids safe during an amusement park ride. The next time we went to an amusement park, my dad had a great idea to bring a small snack size zipped lock bag to put both hearing aids in while we rode on rides. Before we got on a ride, I would put my hearing aids into the bag and my dad would put the bag in the back pocket of his jeans. For extra security, he would sit on them to make sure the bag didn’t come out of his pocket. Now, I know you are probably thinking “Putting weight onto a hearing aid can’t be good, wouldn't that hurt them”? Actually, no. My dad was just heavy enough to keep the bag in his pocket, but not too heavy to break the hearing aid by sitting on it. (Of course, I would caution anyone trying this to be careful because too much weight can definitely damage hearing aids). In addition to keeping my hearing aids safe, the bag also helped keep any type of moisture out (if you live in the south with the horrible summer heat and humidity, you know what I am talking about). After using this bag process, we never had another scare! From then on, it did not matter what I was doing or where I was going, I always made sure to have a snack size zipped lock bag handy!
 
Here’s a Little Help: Having something as simple as a bag available is super easy. We all use these in our homes daily. I would recommend always having some extra bags accessible (like in your car or your purse). You can see by the photo that I have bags handy in my purse, and it is the perfect size for my in-the-ear hearing aids. The snack size bags with a zip lock are my favorite because they are much smaller, and the hearing aids fit comfortably in them. You never know when you might be in a situation where taking your hearing aids out is the best option. It is so simple and easy, and can help you in so many ways. If it helped me, maybe it will help you!