I have a hearing loss as well as a visual impairment. Can I still learn to travel safely and independently?

People who have a hearing loss as well as a visual impairment – and people who are profoundly deaf and totally blind – can travel in their communities, commute to work, and even travel around the world independently.

Communicating with Vision and Hearing Loss

A primary orientation and mobility (O&M) challenge for individuals who cannot hear or see well is learning to communicate effectively with people who can provide help or information, such as store personnel, bus drivers, police, and pedestrians.

During O&M training, you can learn which communication strategies will work for you and have the opportunity to practice a variety of communication techniques while your O&M instructor observes and provides feedback.

One useful communication technique is to use a card with a message written on it. For example, to communicate the need to get across a street, you can use a street-crossing card:

A street-crossing card for deaf-blind individuals (credit: Dona Sauerburger and Gene Bourquin)

• The 8”x 4” laminated card has a tab centered at the bottom so that the individual can hold it without covering the text. The card is attached to a cord that is worn around the neck.
• For more information about using a street-crossing card, see Effective Use of Cards for Soliciting Assistance to Cross Streets.

For more information about communication and alternatives to street-crossing for people who are blind or have low vision in addition to a hearing loss, see Teaching Deaf-Blind People to Communicate and Interact with the Public and Getting Across the Street with Visual and Hearing Impairments.

About Hearing Aids

Many newer digital hearing aids are programmed to magnify speech and eliminate background noise, which can make it more difficult to identify and localize traffic sounds and other environmental “orientation clues.”

If you wear hearing aids, it’s important to let your audiologist know that you need to hear a wider range of environmental sounds, such as traffic noise. Once your audiologist is aware of your O&M needs, he or she can program your digital hearing aids so that you can identify and localize these important environmental sounds more accurately.

For more information about hearing and hearing aids, see About Hearing and Hearing Loss and About Hearing Aids.