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When someone uses hearing aids which is usually a small electronic device that is inserted into the ear, should they be taken off the person and passed through the x-ray machine along with electronics?

Body scanners are also common now in many airports, so what about when going through those, can you keep your hearing aids on?

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  • Mostly you can keep them on, but you won't know for sure until you get there. Even if there are official rules allowing it, many screeners have no idea what the rules are or just make them up as they see fit. Even if you are officially correct, you can't argue. So keep them in until someone asks you to remove them and then remove them
    – Hilmar
    Commented Aug 30, 2019 at 14:17
  • Hearing aids are easily removable yet they are small and not so sturdy, so if one would expect to take them off, it would be recommended to have a small case to put them in so that they don't get damaged by other items in the same tray.
    – Itai
    Commented Aug 30, 2019 at 20:44

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This may vary by country, but generally you can keep them on, but you might want to turn the volume down just before you go through the scanner to avoid any disturbing noise coming from the interference with the signal from the scanner itself .

TSA in the US released a statement that it is safe to keep them on through the X-ray process:

hearing devices such as hearing aids, cochlear implants, external component of cochlear implants, and middle ear implants are not affected by X-ray inspection or walk-through metal detector screening

Source

If you are still worried simply ask an agent working there, they will advise you if you do need to take them off. For more information about flying with hearing aids this blog seems to be a good source.

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  • And you do no need to pass to x-rays.You can ask to skip x-rays, so you will have a body check, which you probably will have in any case, because the x-ray machine will detect metals of your hearing aids.
    – Giacomo Catenazzi
    Commented Aug 30, 2019 at 13:11
  • @GiacomoCatenazzi I've never seen anyone go through the x-ray machine at a security checkpoint, only hand baggage. Maybe someone who's very drunk might try to crawl in there, but...
    – Michael Hampton
    Commented Aug 30, 2019 at 18:41
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    @Michael Hampton Some of the full body scanners use X-rays.
    – MJeffryes
    Commented Aug 30, 2019 at 18:48
  • @MichaelHampton: right. I was meaning metal detectors and full body scanners.
    – Giacomo Catenazzi
    Commented Sep 2, 2019 at 6:49

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