Tips for Driving Comfortably and Safely With Hearing Aids
Why Hearing Matters When You Drive
Staying Alert on the Road
Emergency sirens, honking horns, engine sounds, and navigation prompts all help you respond quickly, confidently, and safely while driving. Even with hearing aids, it’s important to make sure your devices are working at their best so you can stay fully aware of what’s happening around you.
Modern hearing aids are designed to support safer driving by helping you hear what matters and reducing distracting noise, but they work best when settings and technology are kept up to date. A well-adjusted device makes it easier to concentrate on the road.
Safe Driving With Modern Hearing Aid Technology
Hearing Aid Technology Designed for the Road
Many newer devices use smart directionality to focus on the person speaking while reducing surrounding noise, an advancement that can improve speech understanding by 10–18% compared to older technology2. That might not sound like much, but it can mean the difference between catching most of a conversation versus missing key words and feeling frustrated.
While some hearing aid models adjust automatically, others may require switching to a dedicated program to better manage traffic noise. Whatever model you have, the benefit is clearer, more comfortable conversations in the car.
Wireless Communication Between Your Hearing Aids
When you wear two advanced hearing aids, they can communicate wirelessly to share sound information in real time. This coordination helps both ears work together, giving your brain a clearer signal to process and creating a more natural listening experience in the car.
Research shows that this type of binaural wireless coordination can improve speech understanding by up to 33% when a passenger is speaking from your side2. This is particularly useful in a noisy car environment where many sounds compete for your attention.
Automatic Adjustments for Changing Environments
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Practical Tips for Driving With Hearing Aids
Maximizing Comfort and Safety Behind the Wheel
Always Wear Your Hearing Aids When Driving
Minimize Background Noise in Your Vehicle
Close windows when possible to reduce wind noise so your hearing aids can work more effectively. To help you focus on navigation or conversations, you can:
- Keep the radio at a moderate volume
- Adjust your AC fan to low
- Ensure tires are properly inflated
- Secure loose items
- Add floor mats or seat covers to soften sound
If you still find it hard to hear passengers, ask your hearing care professional whether a small remote microphone clipped to their shirt and streamed to your hearing aids could help.
Position Mirrors to Enhance Visual Awareness
Use Smartphone Apps for Customization
Many hearing aids offer smartphone apps that let you adjust settings on the go. If certain driving situations are challenging, you can create custom programs for clearer hearing.
If your devices include dedicated programs, try “Noise Reduction” or “Comfort in Noise” while driving. Your hearing care professional can also set up a driving program, confirm directional microphones are active, and help you activate vibrating alerts so navigation cues or notifications are easier to notice on the road.
Schedule Regular Maintenance and Updates
When to Consider Upgrading Your Hearing Aids
Is It Time to Upgrade Your Hearing Aid Technology?
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Sources:
1 The Gerontologist: Association of Hearing Impairment and Subsequent Driving Mobility in Older Adults (October 2016): https://academic.oup.com/gerontologist/article/57/5/767/2632006
2 Journal of the American Academy of Audiology: The effect of hearing aid technologies on listening in an automobile (September 2012): https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4111914/
