Rain protection / waterproof head gear

I try to keep umbrellas handy, and I bought several little waterproof boxes cheap on amazon. They are just about the same size as the little pocket case that came with my aids, except they snap closed with an o-ring seal. They are just big enough to fit three hearing aids in, so just a little too big. I have one in my car and one in my desk, etc.

Not long ago I was on a ‘camping’ trip in my RV. We had biked a few miles away and storms started brewing. I had no such case or umbrella, so I tried scrounging up a plastic bag. Could only come up with a piece of saran wrap from the kitchen at the place where we were! I wrapped them as best as I could and in the pocket they went! All was good!

I wear hats.
I like to wear hats so it’s perfect.
I have fall/winter hats and spring/summer hats.
I even have the perfect year round hiking hat.

I always wear a fedora hat for UV protection when I’m outside during the day (or a conical, woven straw Asian hat for working in the yard). I’ll wear the fedora at night if it’s likely to rain. Both hats have wind cords attached, so if I’m inside a store, I can let the fedora hang down my back. The fedora is entirely canvas and has a heavily vented crown. My ReSound Omnias are supposedly rain-resistant, too.

Yeah, I’m a hat man myself, all shapes and sizes, I have always loved hats, I probably have between 20 to 30, although I have never actually counted them, finding them all would probably be problematic, they seem to turn up, in the most unusual places, I do have a couple of hat stands, but they are always full…If I am out walking the dogs, I always wear a hat, no matter what the weather is like… In Scotland, we have a wee beastie called the “The Midgie”, only the female bites, but that tiny fly, will force you off the water you are fishing on, they are ferocious in there biting, my face and hands swell up, with every bite, they need the blood to reproduce, they are attracted by the carbon monoxide from your breath, I look as if I had went several rounds with boxer “Mike Tyson” I have actually seen the back of my hands were black, with so many biting Midgies on me, especially if it’s flat calm, drizzling rain, around this time of year, July / August, they don’t like sunshine or the wind, so the hat in Scotland has got a duel purpose, it keeps the rain off, but also helps to keep the dreaded Midgies from getting in in your hair, up your nose, in your eyes, in your ears… I am starting to scratch, at the thought Cheers Kev

Most new aids are IP 68 rated and are rain proof I even go into the pool with them, I just keep my ears out of the water. IP 68 is water proof to 3 feet for 30 minutes. Replaceable Hearing aid Batteries are not and will not work when wet.

Good for you. I was playing golf a few weeks ago when the bottom fell out and before I could even react I was drenched. My More1 are kaput. Went to the VA and they sent them back to Oticon for repairs. That was on 8/2. Still haven’t gotten them back yet. Luckily I have a backup pair I’ve been wearing.

Phonak life (so a degree of waterproofing) it generally a trilby had with a brim to also keep the sun off my thinning hair (alright, bald head), heavier rain (it is summer in the UK after all) a baseball cap and a waterproof coat with a hood.

A Tilley hat or a fedora for me.

Yeah, West Coast Midgies, are probably more vicious than any other, I recall one morning out near Achultiebuie, fishing a tiny Sea Trout Lochan, the Loch was down in a dip, brilliant for Sea Trout, but, a haven for Midgies, flat calm that day, with misty rain, the 4 of us, where practically eaten alive, it became so bad, we couldn’t fish, it was pure unadulterated torture, so we packed up, and headed home, about 3 miles down the road, the car had a puncture, it took about an hour to change that tyre, such was the ferocity of the little blighters… We took it in turns, to take each individual wheel nuts off, not an experience, I would like to repeat Although I don’t eat meat Gareth, I might make an exception, for one of those burgers

Just to get somewhat back on topic, mosquito hats with netting can provide rain protection for HAs and do a decent job of keeping black flies (midges) off your face. And, yes, black flies/midges are found worldwide. In more tropical areas, they can transmit parasitic nematode diseases. In 1968, I went on a multi-week hiking expedition in June in northern NY State (the Adirondacks) and faced the kind of fly reception described above. The netted hat made most of the daytime tolerable. You have to take off your hat to eat, though. Our solution was to build smoky fires at daytime campsites, but after about a week and a half of flies and lots of smoke, my compatriots voted to abandon the trip. One of them fell to his knees and worshipped our car when we arrived back at the trailhead! Good idea wherever you go in the outdoors to check if and when there is a black fly/midge season in your neck of the woods before you head into the great outdoors. In northern NY State, the flies die out considerably as you head further into summer’s hotter, drier parts. I imagine that flies would be a special bother for HA wearers as the bites are painful, and you’d want to be slapping the sides of your head. Not so good for your HAs, so a netted hat would help protect you both from rain and such insects. DEET helps reduce but doesn’t eliminate fly attraction.

Yeah Jim, I have several Midgie Hats, with fine mesh nets, I have also used ladies tights, pulled over my head, in the absence of a Midgie net, those kept them down a bit… The Midgie has several attack points though, it particularly likes the wrists, and backs of your hands, when it can’t get near your face, they will crawl inside your jacket, and bite to their heart’s content… Many years ago, I learned of a Moisturizer called “Avon SFS” (Soft For Skin) it works, 95% of the time, with just the odd Kamikaze Midge still biting, but it’s greasy on the skin, and uncomfortable, and as the Midge come up in veritable clouds, as soon as you take that net off, they land on you in seconds, and you are absolutely covered with them, in your eyes, in your ears, up your nose, you also swallow lots of them, you might have several thousand on the backs of you hands alone… In the end, much as I love the West, you learn to avoid the North West Coast of Scotland, absolutely stunning scenery, and absolutely brilliant fishing, but it comes at a price, but not in monetary terms, it’s usually free fishing… If you do go, you pray for sunshine, and a bit of wind, if it’s flat calm, with drizzle or mist, you are in for torture, and plenty of it! Nowadays, I tend to fish predominantly on the East Coast, the East Coast Midge, is a mere irritation in comparison to the West Coast version, the East Coast Midge do bite, but not in the numbers & ferocity of their Western Sisters They attack with venom, and are downright vicious, it must be “Phychosomatic” I am scratching again, thinking about the little blighters Cheers Kev

My Oticon Reals have gotten soaked without damage. Just don’t open the battery doors until dry.