How Deaf Travelers Overcome All Obstacles

When Calvin Young was younger, he gave up his job in real estate to follow his true passion: traveling around the world. From Brazil to Australia, he has traveled many destinations and shares his stories, photographs, videos and more on the website he founded, Seek the World.

He is also deaf.

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Young has found that being a deaf traveler comes with its challenges, but it doesn’t stop him from achieving his goals.

“You have to find every possible way to communicate around the world, such as writing a note, typing on a device, using a stick and writing in the sand and just pointing to an object,” said Young. “Always remind yourself there's a way to overcome the barrier/obstacle, no matter what abilities you have.”

Alanna Kilroy also understands the challenges of being a deaf traveler.

“You inevitably deal with foreign accents and have to be prepared to come up with alternative ways of communicating if you can't understand someone,” said Kilroy, who lives in Franklin, Massachusetts. “When I was on a layover in Qatar, I had such a hard time understanding the airline employee and asked another person if they could repeat what the employee was saying.”

She enjoys traveling in groups instead of on her own because of the people that she gets to meet: “I have taken trips with both deaf and non-deaf groups, and have had equally memorable experiences. I went on a People to People trip to Northern Europe in 2012, a No Barriers trip to Peru in 2015, and most recently, a VoluntEARS trip to Nepal.”

VoluntEARS is a UK- based organization which works with Deaf communities around the world. No Barriers is a nonprofit that organizes life-changing experiences for youth, veterans, and people with disabilities.

“Each group offers something different,” said Kilroy. “For instance, No Barriers offered a leadership-building program for young deaf adults, whereas VoluntEARS gave the unique opportunity of volunteering at a deaf school and was comprised of both deaf and hearing VoluntEARS.”

Ellen Hillery helped Kilroy with her travel arrangements.

“She needed assistance on the plane since she can't hear the announcements. I requested special disability access for her,” said Hillery, an independent travel consultant at Enchanted Memories Travel in Medway, Massachusetts. “My client carries two cell phones: One is specifically for texting, which is an important and best way to communicate. Facebook messaging is also an excellent communication tool for the deaf.”

“I have learned to be independent, deal with tricky situations and make friends anywhere I go,” Kilroy said. “I was recently in Nepal, and it was amazing and crazy to see how different the deaf community is over there versus here. I had access to a multitude of resources growing up, and it was unfortunate to really witness how little the Nepali deaf children have access to.”

Young says that deaf travelers should just worry about being themselves.

“Don’t look at yourself as a deaf person, but as a traveler,” he added. “You'll probably face some discriminations. It's your opportunity to change that by educating them that we, deaf people, can do anything. Hearing might be an issue, but it's actually not a big issue.”

If you are a deaf traveler, many travel agents can help you make your travel arrangements. There are also travel agents who specialize in travel arrangements for the deaf.