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If you’ve subscribed to my email newsletter, you know the joys (okay, the convenience) of getting special offers, updates on the latest models, and the ability to ask me questions. Since I figure that most people will have similar questions, I like to post the answers in public, too (after asking permission). This latest question concerns how to charge your hearing aids while traveling, something I hadn’t thought about yet:
My wife and I travel often enough, including overseas. My question: Since the rechargeable aids have to be charged daily, how do you handle that? Traveling in the U.S. and overseas with different electrical currents. We don’t have an IPhone, cell phone, etc and are not (while traveling) near a computer with a USB port.
In other words: how do you charge your hearing aids when traveling?
I’ve got two answers this time. One is simply a new type of hearing aid I found around the same time I started answering this question, and the other question applies to everything you’re charging while traveling.
The best Hearing Aids for traveling
If you’ve bought a pair of rechargeable hearing aids in the last two years, there’s a good chance your hearing aids came in a charging case. This charging case is perfect for travel, as the case itself recharges your batteries. When you’re still looking for hearing aids and plan to travel, make sure you get such a hearing aid. I’ve listed all those options under the travel category. For a quicker review, let me sum up the best hearing aids for travel:
- Lexie Bose B2: the single best OTC hearing aid also comes with a travel case option, giving you peace of mind while traveling.
- Lucid Hearing fio: this CIC model comes in a travel case that recharges your batteries multiple times.
- Neosonic B10: a budget option that gives you a fine all-round hearing aid with a travel case.
How to charge your hearing amplifiers while traveling with a USB cord
Now, that’s a bit of a lame answer if you already have a rechargeable hearing amplifier. You can’t just buy a new pair because you’re traveling a lot. So here’s the answer for the rest of you, in a few bullet points. For this, I will assume you charge your hearing aids using a USB cord. This is a cord where you plug one end into your charging station or hearing aid, and the other end into a little block that goes into your outlet. The part that goes into the block can go into any USB port. You find such ports in laptops or as a stationary USB port offered in airports, cars, and similar places.
- Most ways you travel will provide a USB charging place nowadays. Airplanes have USB ports around your seat, any car you rent will have a USB port, and even some trains or buses abroad will offer a USB port around. Simply pop the outlet-part of your cord out of the block and into the USB port that’s offered. This way you can charge your hearing aids while traveling to Europe or other faraway destinations.
- For your destination itself, you can usually use a ‘local’ block to charge your devices. When my family and I travel to Europe, we bring our USB cords, and buy the blocks that go into the local outlets at a general store for the equivalent of a few dollars. This is the easiest way to charge your hearing aids in the UK, Asia, or anywhere else. Alternatively, you can bring a universal outlet adapter.
- Finally, you can bring a power bank with you. This is essentially a battery you carry with you. That way, you can always charge your hearing aids (and your phones, tablets, and other devices). Getting a solar-powered model makes it even easier, because you won’t have to find a way to charge your power bank.