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Driving with Hearing Impairment

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In reply to @danka

@danka said:

Some cars put - “Baby on board”. “You kiss You Pay” sign sticker!

Yes, I often wonder about those “baby” stickers that you see, especially on multitonne, tank-like road monsters. Find the combination somewhat sinister. Does it warn us that baby sometimes takes the wheel of the road monster? Does it mean that mummy won’t swerve or brake for deaf cyclists who aren’t her family?
Drifting a bit (even further) off topic here, last year The Economist had an interesting study on how car owners “externalise” traffic risks by investing in “safe”, armoured, heavy vehicles. Such stickers seem to make that strategy explicit.

“The Economist has found that, for every life the heaviest 1% of SUVs or trucks saves in America, more than a dozen lives are lost in smaller vehicles.”

In reply to @Zeeza

@Zeeza said:

Could you please share a photo of the flashing repeater lights? I looked them up but I’m not sure I got the correct result!

IMG_0478

These ones are around £7 (for me delivered free) they are small, approximately an inch or so across, 4 different light modes, they attach via the rubberised band, red to the rear, clear to the front of the bike, there will probably be hundreds of different types on eBay & Amazon, just punch in “Bike Lights”… Cheers Kev :wink:

Edited

I’ve had a couple incidents while driving where I narrowly missed being hit by emergency vehicles I didn’t hear coming up behind me or at a cross street. Now I keep my eyes flicking often to the rearview mirror and don’t put music on to at least hear when they’re close.

I do wear hearing aids. They don’t help with hearing sounds until they’re nearer.

Is is better to switch off the radio/music when driving with ’s. Keep an opened eyes and the help of HA’s is very important when driving in a high traffic area.
Drive carefully is very important.

Hi, maybe starting with a bicycle to get used to being around traffic while you’re moving around town. Whether in a car or on a bicycle, hearing aids will do nothing but help you.

So you’re nervous about driving. A nurse told me once: If you’re afraid, do it afraid.

I am almost 80% heartless on both ears but I can hear well with my hearingaids got them from an audiologist in Cyprus. Resound Omnia 9. I am so satisfy.
Thanks to this community I could program them myself.
A audiologist can never adjust the aids that way.

Do your wear hearing aids, if so can you still not hear indicators, sirens or traffic ie cars passing etc??.
Personally with my hearing loss the car radio sounds terribly distorted, so instead I listen to radio via Bluetooth from phone to . with ambient volume on HA turned right down -7(oticon intent). Works a treat. I’m just more vigilant when driving.

In reply to @Zeeza

Wind noise is a big problem for me if I cycle with hearing aids in. There are very simple things you can get to attach to a bike helmet which reduce wind noise considerably, like:
https://www.amazon.com/Wind-Blox-Attachment-Accessory-Reduction-Adjustable/dp/B01EGVOP40?th=17 (I dont know why those ones are so expensive, you can find cheaper). All the same even with those I find wind noise very tiring and usually cycle without my hearing aids. I can hear the important sounds (though there are more and more electric vehicles I can’t hear) but directionality is still a problem. This makes me more cautious, so if I hear a siren I will often pull over and wait in case the emergency vehicle is just behind me. I have cycled a lot - many miles, many days, mostly in city centres - and have never had, or caused, an accident due to my hearing. Unfortunately I had to give up riding in groups: I can’t join in a conversation without the hearing aids, or with the hearing aids plus wind.

Exactly my experience. On top of them I sweat when cycling. For both reasons I never wore on my bike- and never had accidents. Knowing the traffic rules helps…

In reply to @PaulS63

@PaulS63 said:

Do your wear hearing aids, if so can you still not hear indicators, sirens or traffic ie cars passing etc??.

@navtis said:

but directionality is still a problem.

Yes, I wear hearing aids and still I can’t hear all sounds and noise, and directionality is a big problem. Without hearing aids, I can still hear some loud sirens and noise but again, I don’t know their directions! In addition, it’s so hot here in summer.
I’d be so nervous to learn how to ride a bike without my hearing aids!

In reply to @kevels55

Here in the USA, some cyclists call the flashing red tail lights “boozer beacons” - because drunk drivers tend to become visually fixated on them. This, unfortunately, leads to narrowly avoiding (or worse, colliding with) bicyclists at night.

Definitely. I started driving a couple of years before I knew I had hearing loss. Still driving now. I also ride my bike but not on the road in the UK now.

Edited

I think a bike would be fine on a bike path with NO auto traffic swirling around!

When I lived in a mountain town I always ALWAYS wore a sideview mirror like this attached to my sunglasses to see traffic coming up behind me. Bigger danger is use of cellphones when drivers carom into you. Safety first.

Then dear Zeeza, you GOTTA BE CAUTIOUS. I’ve given up bike riding in street traffic in my new location cuz drivers are craaaaaazy here.

Oh. And then I joined a dumpy, old gym a year ago and on Thu was tossed off the back of a faulty treadmill there that jacked from 3.9 mph to 8mph on its own due to sticky speed switch. Now I’m nursing bruises, crush break in shoulder and nasty scrapes.

Accidents can happen anywhere but I’m very risk-averse and still caught off-guard.

BE SAFE.

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