Preparing for your trip

For deaf children and young people, there are some additional things to think about when travelling. 

We’ve put together our advice on preparing for your trip, so you can look forward to your next adventure!

Special assistance

Whether you’re travelling by air, sea, rail, or road, travel companies have an obligation to make sure deaf and disabled passengers have a smooth journey.

You can request special assistance from the airline, ferry company or rail company. Most companies recommend doing this at least 48 hours in advance.

Special assistance may include things like:

• escorting you through security or providing a special fast-track security lane
• allowing you to skip check-in queues or providing a special assistance check-in desk
• assisting you to your plane, train or ferry
• assisting your transfer to your next plane or train
• providing safety information and updates about your journey in writing.

You may also be able to ask for staff with deaf awareness or sign language training. For example, Virgin Atlantic can now provide BSL-trained cabin crew. Passengers must get in touch to request this at least 12 weeks before their flight.

Different countries and companies have different ways of managing special assistance. It may be useful to carry a card explaining your assistance needs in different languages. In the UK, sunflower lanyards can be used to show that you have a hidden disability or health condition.

For extra reassurance, you can research the policies of the travel company and country you are visiting.

Packing your bags

When you’re packing for your trip, here are a few essentials you may want to bring with you. Remember, it may be difficult to find a replacement if you forget something.

• spare batteries for hearing aids or implants
• charger for rechargeable hearing technology
• travel adaptor plugs
• a cleaning kit for hearing aids or implants
• a dry box for hearing aids or implants (especially if you are travelling somewhere humid)
• a radio aid
• equipment used at home, such as a vibrating alarm clock or headphones
• a pad and pen for communicating
• equipment to protect hearing technology in water [link to swimming section]
• implant holiday loan kit – contact your implant centre or manufacturer to borrow one while you are away
• an extension lead with multiple sockets and/or a power bank

If you’re bringing a power bank, make sure to check your airline’s rules. Some do not allow power banks in checked luggage and you may not be allowed to use it to charge during the flight.

When flying, you can take two additional items of carry-on baggage for medical equipment free of charge. Contact your airline or travel agent for more information. 

Find out more about using hearing technology at the airport.

Planning your trip

Travelling to a new place or through busy transport hubs is exciting, but it can be stressful too – for everyone, deaf and hearing! You can ease anxiety by preparing, doing research and having conversations about your journey before you leave.

Do your research

Research the airport, train station or ferry terminal you will be using. You could look at maps to familiarise yourself with the layout of the transport hub and check out available facilities. 

Know your itinerary

Create an itinerary for each step of your journey. This can help you keep track of where you need to be next. Alternatively, a visual guide allows younger children to follow along and feel informed and included.

Use technology

Download apps to your smartphone or tablet to help you on your journey. Useful apps include:

• Passenger Assistance
• National Rail
• Google Maps
• Apple Maps
• Citymapper
• What3Words
• Waze

Specific airports and travel companies often have their own app to give you real-time information, so you don’t have to worry about missing spoken announcements. 

Speech-to-text apps and services can also be useful for communication, as well as apps like Google Translate for interpreting different languages abroad.

Contact your accommodation

Get in touch with your hotel or accommodation in advance to talk about adjustments for deaf guests.

Some hotels may provide facilities like visual smoke alarms or induction hearing loops. They will also need to know how to alert you in an emergency. 

Plan for communication

When it comes to communication, you may find there are extra things to think about while you’re away.

Transport hubs and tourist areas can be busy and noisy, and there may also be unfamiliar accents and new languages. This can affect how you communicate.

Being abroad is also a great opportunity to have fun and learn a new language!

Before you leave, think about different ways of communicating:

• Practise signs you may need for situations on holiday, like finding a gate at the airport or asking to put on suncream.
• If you’re travelling abroad, look up a few signs in the country’s sign language. This may help you communicate with other people while you’re away. It’s also fun to find out about other sign languages and how they may differ from British Sign Language (BSL) or Irish Sign Language (ISL).
• Create and carry a card in the local language, explaining that you are deaf and your communication preferences. You could make this using Google Translate.

Travel insurance

It is really important to arrange travel insurance before you go on holiday. Insurance protects you in emergencies, makes sure you can access medical care abroad, and helps you get home if things go wrong.

Some travel insurers class deafness as a ‘pre-existing condition’. This can make getting insurance more difficult. You might find that you aren’t covered for anything that happens while travelling, or that some policies won’t cover deaf people at all. 

You must read the small print of any travel policy before you buy it. Even if you are covered, you must still let the insurer know that your child is deaf – some insurers will not pay out if they did not know about your deafness in advance, even if the situation has nothing to do with you being deaf.

If your child uses hearing technology, it is a good idea to make sure it is covered by insurance while on holiday. 

There are various types of insurance – you may be able to have technology covered by your general travel insurance, your home insurance or take out a specific policy for each item.

If you are unsure about travel insurance, contact our free Helpline for advice.

Assistance animals

Most of the time, hearing dogs should be able to travel free of charge, and some companies may be able to provide special seats with extra space for people travelling with assistance animals.

Travel companies will usually need to know you are bringing a hearing dog in advance. They may ask for proof that the dog is a trained assistance animal. 

You will also need to make sure your dog is microchipped and immunised against rabies before you travel abroad.

For more information and advice, visit Assistance Dogs UK or Hearing Dogs for the Deaf.