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How Are Gate Changes and In-Flight Announcements Handled?

One of the biggest hurdles that hard-of-hearing passengers face when traveling is getting access to important messages, such as gate change announcements or in-flight messages.

The best way to ensure that you won't be waiting at gate B4 while your fellow passengers are boarding at B22 is again, let the gate agent know you have a hearing impairment. Bring a piece of paper that explains your condition and the best way the agent can communicate with you. Then let the gate agent know where you will be sitting in the boarding area so that he or she can inform you about any important announcements.

When you board the plane, the best way to open lines of communication with the crew is to show that slip of paper to your flight attendant. The attendant is supposed to be already aware that there's a hearing-impaired person aboard, but this way will prevent any problems.

Once the flight attendant knows about your hearing issue, and how to best communicate with you, he or she will let you know about any announcements. And of course, for the nervous traveler, there are the cards in the seat backs that will ease any worries about what to do in case of an emergency.

What do you think about the options, or lack thereof, for hard-of-hearing passengers? Do you think more should be done to accommodate them? What are some of the problems you've encountered as a hearing-impaired flyer? Let us know in the comments!

[Photo: jon gos]