The "Do You Wear Hearing Aids?" blurb in the November Flotsam and Jetsam section caught my eye. I am 53 and have been wearing hearing aids since I was three.

Losing, breaking, or wrecking them can make the rest of the trip (and the trip home) stressful and difficult to enjoy. Mine are all-inthe- ear, and when I go diving, I store them in a small, childproof aspirin bottle to protect them from water or if I drop them.

I'm comfortable telling dive leaders up front that I wear hearing aids. I advise them that I won't hear noisemakers underwater, and if they need my attention once I take them out, they need to speak loudly or even yell. I also advise them that I will never deliberately ignore them when it comes to safety issues. I've learned this approach works; dive guides and boat captains genuinely appreciate the honesty.

I take mine out before the boat leaves the dock, and I don't put them back in until it's safe. On the boat, the little aspirin bottle is locked inside a miniature Pelican case, which I store in the safest part of the boat. I always travel with an extra set, which I keep in my room.

- Chip Wright (Hebron, Kentucky)

Forward this article to your dive buddy