Emergencies occur whether we’re prepared or not; dangers of natural disasters to power outages, flooding and tornadoes, planning ahead will allow you to be more prepared during these difficult times.
Here are some steps to take to assure you and your loved ones with hearing loss will be safe in case of an emergency.
Pack a special “emergency kit” specifically designed for those with hearing loss
- Extra hearing aid batteries
- Water-resistant hearing aid container
- Dry aid kit is ideal, but a seal sandwich bag is better than nothing
- Cleaning tools
- Paper and pen
- In case someone needs to write in order to communicate
- List of city, country and state of emergency numbers
- Back-up or spare pair of hearing aids
An easy step you can take is to make yourself more safe in case of an emergency is to place “Hearing Impaired” sign in your home and/or near the front or back doors alerting any emergency personnel that might need to help you, so they will know they need to communicate loud and clear.
It can also be helpful if trusted neighbors, nearby relatives and friends are aware of your degree of hearing loss. In the event an emergency occurs, they will know when and how to get a hold of you to notify you in case you need to take shelter or evacuate your home.
It is impossible to know when an emergency will strike. If you or a loved one suffers from hearing loss or deafness, taking extra preparations like those mentioned can ensure that the disaster will run more smoothly.