Jaunted's Guide to Flying for the Hearing-Impaired
We've geeked out over the airlines in-flight entertainment offerings and the status of in-flight WiFi enough here on Jaunted but we've recently realized that these technological advancements still leave a certain group out of the loop--the hearing impaired.
You may take for granted that you can watch movies (whether you paid $8 for them on your seatback or if it's playing overhead) but in fact, most in-flight entertainment offerings don't even offer closed captioning.
And while some Southwest flight attendants get creative with their boarding announcements, there's no sign language interpreter for the hearing impaired. This is probably fine when it comes to rapping flight attendants but what happens when there's an emergency?
According to the National Center for Health Statistics, 37 million adults of all ages in the United States reported some degree of hearing loss in 2006. This includes a range of impairments, from those having problems hearing to those who are completely deaf.
So we thought we'd look at how airlines are accommodating these kinds of travelers.
Check out the options below for hearing-impaired passengers on the major U.S. airlines and learn what your rights are as a hard-of-hearing flyer.
Jaunted's Hearing-Impaired Travelers Series
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: gTarded]
Comments (4)
Post a CommentReturn to » Jaunted's Guide to Flying for the Hearing-Impaired
Return to » Jaunted's Guide to Flying for the Hearing-Impaired
Join the conversation!