Pool Day on a Family Vacation

My Story: Traveling to a new place or taking a vacation is always a fun time, and the memories last a lifetime! One of my most clear memories is when my family and I went to Mexico for a summer vacation. We had just arrived at the resort and immediately went down to the pool. I removed my hearing aids, put them in my handy little travel case, and jumped in the pool. When it was time to get out, I wrapped myself with a towel and dried off my ears before putting my hearing aids back in (this is always something I recommend whether you are getting out of the pool or shower!). I grabbed the first hearing aid with my hands and guess what happens? I immediately drop them because my hands were still too wet from the water, and my hearing aid slipped out of my hand. So, where did it drop? Into the dang pool! Yes, you read that right! That little sucker fell directly into the pool and sank all the way down to the bottom. So, I immediately dropped my towel and starting panicking. My dad jumped into the pool and dove to the bottom to grab the sunken hearing aid. Of course it was soaked, and I immediately started crying. I was instantly mad at myself and had no idea what to do since we still had a whole week left on our trip in another country. My dad and I rushed to our room and started blow drying the hearing aid. A secondary thought, always make sure you have a blow dryer in your hotel room. The hearing aid was now dried, but still not working. So, what did my dad do? He grabbed that handy dandy zip lock bag! He set my hearing aid in the bag and zipped it up and said, “let’s leave it here for the day and come back later to see if it works.” That is exactly what we did! All day goes by and all I could think about is if my hearing aid was working or not. When we got back to the hotel room, I immediately ran the counter that my hearing aid was sitting on. I was so nervous and just stood there staring at it. My dad removed the aid from the bag and I put it in my ear… y’all the dang hearing aid worked! This aid worked the entire trip and then finally died the day we landed back home, which prompted us to visit my audiologist. BUT it worked!! So, after that trip we purchased a waterproof bag to put my hearing aids in. I took this thing on every beach and pool trip until I was old enough to be a little more responsible with my aids. I learned a huge lesson that beach trip as I realized how quickly something can break, but I also learned how smart and fast thinking my dad was!
 
Here’s a Little Help: This is another experience where I would highly recommend having that little zip locked bag handy. Also, I would suggest finding a waterproof bag to use on trips where you are near the water. Sadly, I don’t remember what bag I used but there are so many options out there for you! I would also suggest checking to ensure no matter where you are staying – in a hotel, resort, friend’s house, etc., - that you always have access to a blow dryer. You truly never know when that thing will come in handy for you! If it helped me, maybe it will help you!