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| Sherry Cochran improvised a hearing aid condom/shield so that she could swim with the dolphins |
After 34 years of marriage, my husband and I finally were in the fi nancial position to take the honeymoon we were unable to afford when we got married. We booked a 12-day trip to Oahu, which we chose because it was not so large an island that we would be spending our entire trip rushing around trying to see all of the tourist attractions, yet it was large enough to offer a good variety of things to do and see, such as Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Waikiki Beach, two extinct volcanoes that could be climbed and explored, the Polynesian Cultural Center, the Dole Pineapple Plantation, plus some of the most beautiful beaches in the world.
During all the years of fantasizing about a trip to Hawaii, I had first heard and then seen documentaries about swimming with dolphins and a deep desire grew within me to do that if the opportunity ever presented itself. Now that our dream vacation was becoming a reality, I eagerly researched our destination of Oahu and searched for places where people could swim with
dolphins. There were several different establishments that offered swimming with dolphins, from scuba diving with them in the open sea to snorkeling with them in small, enclosed pools. I chose Dolphin Quest at the Kahala Hotel and Resort which was open to the public. I did not like the idea of being out in the open, deep sea and the pictures and descriptions of the resort showed man-made lagoons that looked natural and spacious for the dolphins and their human visitors. Dolphin Quest is affiliated with the Alliance of Marine Mammal Parks and Aquariums and uses its proceeds for marine education programs, conservation of dolphins and other marine life and research programs of all sea
life, including coral reefs.
Before leaving for our trip, I asked my audiologist what to use to keep my expensive behind-the-ear digital hearing aids dry while swimming in the ocean, hotel pool and during my adventure of interacting with dolphins. She mentioned hearing aid condoms or shields, describing them as a soft latex cover with an opening to allow sound to enter the microphone while preventing water from entering the inner workings of the aids or battery compartment. My hearing aids would be water resistant with these shields, but not waterproof. I emailed Dolphin Quest, explaining that I wore hearing aids and they assured me they provided snorkel masks so that visitors did not need to submerge their heads to watch the dolphins underwater. I was excited at the prospect of not only seeing, feeling and swimming with the dolphins, but also hearing the noises they make. I knew from my research that dolphins are very vocal.
I had planned to buy the hearing aid condoms before we left but forgot to get them. I thought there would be hearing aid dispensers in Waikiki or Honolulu that sold them. However, after arriving at our hotel, I looked in the yellow pages of the Oahu phone book and was surprised to see how few hearing aid dispensers there were on the island – and none of them carried the waterproof covers for hearing aids. I have a hearing loss at around 100 decibels but my hearing aids improve my hearing to about 50 to 60 decibels. With my aids, I could hear the dolphins; without them, I didn’t have much hope.
So I improvised by devising my own hearing aid condom/shield with latex finger covers (for keeping
finger bandages dry) that I found in a pharmacy. I used cuticle scissors to cut a tiny hole for the microphone and wrapped the aid with medical tape. Though it was a bit bulky, it felt fairly comfortable. Just in case, I decided to use only one hearing aid so I would still have the use of the second hearing aid should my makeshift shield prove lacking.
Dolphin Quest welcomes guests with special needs and their staff of professional trainers knows how to aid people with various disabilities in interacting with the dolphins. They schedule small groups of up to six people or can arrange for a one-on-one session with prior notice. Every staff member, especially the professional and personable dolphin trainers, was constantly aware of my hearing loss; they made certain I was always right next to or in front of them when they were speaking. They made sure I could read their lips while they explained about the different parts and functions of the dolphins, along with interesting facts and information about these delightful sea mammals.
There were two “pools” designed like natural lagoons with an Atlantic Bottlenose dolphin in each. Atlantic Bottlenose dolphins are the largest of the dolphin species; their sleek bodies can be up to nine feet long and they can weigh as much as 450 pounds. At the first pool, we met the female dolphin, received instruction on dolphins and were allowed to touch her. Her body felt rubbery but the skin was silky smooth; dolphins shed their outer layer of skin every two days. Dolphins are very visually orientated; they use visual cues with each other and are therefore easily trained by professional trainers and behaviorists to “perform” from hand signals. The first trainer put the female dolphin through her paces, including standing up using her tail for leverage, then using her tail fl ippers to “dance” backwards while still in an upright position, leaping high out of the water, racing around the lagoon and rolling over to have her belly rubbed. I showed both trainers the ASL sign for “yes” and “no” and they thought they would be useful hand signals to train the dolphins.
The trainer also used hand signs for the dolphin to demonstrate the different sounds they make. They had me stand right next to the dolphin to better hear the vocalizations: chirps, whistles, squeaks, trills, clicks and croaking that sounds very similar to a dog growling. Dolphins use growling to voice unhappiness or to vocalize their displeasure with another dolphin. They will use a higher pitch to warn of a predator, combined with loud squeals and trills. Dolphins bounce sound off of objects either on top of or beneath the water to detect obstacles, other dolphins, fi sh and other substances in the water. Dolphins are extremely playful and play is an important part of their socialization; they “surf ” by riding the waves and playfully toss seaweed or other objects to each other in the water.
At the second lagoon that held the male dolphin, we put on life jackets and snorkeling masks. The trainer took us one by one over to the docile male who allowed us to use one hand to hang onto his dorsal fin, pulling us along as he swam at a moderate pace. He also swam freely among us, sometimes rubbing up against us as he swam by. The trainer signaled the dolphin to dive and swim underwater while we all looked down into the pool through our face masks. He swam between my legs at one point, gently brushing up against me, which is a dolphin sign of friendliness.
It was a magical experience for me to swim with the dolphins. I was honored that these sensitive, intelligent and gentle creatures of the sea allowed me to interact with them. Looking into their eyes, I felt such a deep connection to other living beings whose hearts seemed as big as the sea in which they live.
I am also grateful to the fantastic staff at the Oahu Kahala Hotel and Resort who were so perceptive and constantly aware of my hearing loss needs to ensure my experience of swimming with the dolphins was interactive, rewarding and simply phenomenal.
