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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 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 Aid for traveling
The ZVOX VB25 is a neat hearing aid, and a worthy successor to the ZVOX VB20. Aside from several other features (which you can read about in my review for the ZVOX VB25), this hearing aid has two features that make it especially good for traveling: the charging case and a listening mode.
The charging case for the VB25 works as a two-tiered charger. You charge the case with a USB cord, as you do with all rechargeable hearing aids. As the case has its own battery, your actual hearing aids charge every time you store them in the case. A fully charged case will recharge your devices up to three times. This means you can leave for the weekend and not have to worry about your charging cord.
The other feature is one of its four listening modes: automobile noise reduction. This specifically eliminates the humming noises from your car, so other sounds are clearer. Great for RV travelers with hearing aids. And I’m willing to bet it filters out airplane noises, too (but I’m just as sure ZVOX would stress that they’re not made for that, and I have not tested this myself yet).
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.
- 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. 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.