Communicating in a car with single sided deafness can bring some unique challenges – especially depending on which side of your body your deaf ear is located.

I am singled sided deaf on the left. I can really struggle with ordering at drive thrus. Typically, their speaker system isn’t working the best. Also, I usually have to turn my head at a goofy angle to try and talk to the person at the pick-up window. It always seems that there is a ton of background noise coming through the window that makes it much harder to hear. I find myself hoping the worker isn’t asking anything outside the standard script.

I have also heard some very humorous and awkward stories from other left deaf folks in situations when they are pulled over. I would recommend informing a police officer that you are hard of hearing right away, perhaps specifying you need to see their face to understand them. Hopefully, that would cut down on any problems and confusion.

My husband typically drives for road trips. That means he is usually on my deaf side. I usually do fine with conversing with him as long as I am wearing my bone anchored hearing aid, and my children aren’t being wild hooligans. However, I know others with left sided hearing loss without devices can struggle with being a passenger and chatting. Sometimes, just turning the music off can make a big impact on the ability to converse.

I happen to have a friend who is deaf on the right. Of course, he typically is the family driver. He can struggle with chatting with the passengers when driving, especially when gathering orders from the kids in the back seats if they are trying to order at a drive thru.

So keep in mind what portions of the road trip will be a challenge for your hearing. Maybe it is worth going inside the restaurant or switching drivers to cut down on frustrations. I find I really like to bring along loop ear plugs so when my children inevitably become rowdy, I don’t get overwhelmed by their sound. And when it is time for a nap, I put in one ear plug, turn my hearing aid off, and catch some nice quiet rest.

https://us.loopearplugs.com/