One of the most important parts of traveling with the cane is not only what you feel. Many important aspects of your enviroment are not close enough to touch. Using the sounds generated around you will assist in your goal to find your destination as a blind person.
When traveling as a blind person, you need to keep in mind what you are looking for. The best way to do this when things are not close by is to take a moment and listen for sounds. For example, if you are searching for the front door of a building, try to listen for people opening and closing it.
Let’s say that you haven’t even found the parking lot of the building you need. If you know that you are nearby, listen to the road beside you for a minute or two. After a short while, you should hear cars turning into the parking lot and later coming to a stop to park.
Once you have found the property, it can be quite difficult to find the front door with only touch. Certainly try to ask someone to help you find the entrance if they are nearby but, you can also pause for a minute if no one is available. Over time, you should hear people entering or exiting the building. When you do, you can turn towards that sound and walk to it.
Once you have gotten into the store, there are still ways to use sound to find what you need. One example of this is to find a person to assist you. Rather than walking around and calling out for random people, listen for a cash register beeping. You can then walk in that direction and ask for help with what you need there.
Using sounds as a blind person is a great way to adapt your skill of travel. Over time, this skill will become natural for you and things will not be quite as difficult for you to locate. Attention to detail in your enviroment will make it so that you can discern where you need to walk.