When you reach your sixties and beyond, it may seem like people are talking in softer voices… or the words being spoken are more difficult to distinguish. You may find yourself asking for words to be repeated, leaning forward to hear them, or watching the speaker’s lips for clues as to what is being said.
Sometimes you might make a comment disconnected from what the speaker has just said because you are too embarrassed to ask that they repeat themselves yet again.
As a family member or caregiver, the effort to communicate with your senior loved one with hearing loss can be both exhausting and frustrating.
But neither of you are alone.
Hearing loss is a common problem for seniors. It typically is caused by noise, aging, disease and genetics. According to the National Institute on Aging, approximately one in three people between the ages of 65 and 74 will experience hearing loss.
The Effects of Hearing Loss on Seniors
Isolation
The struggle to hear and communicate may become so difficult and potentially embarrassing for seniors that they respond by withdrawing from social interaction.
Changes to the Brain
Because certain areas of the brain do not process sound as efficiently after hearing loss, these areas may also have an increased risk of atrophy, or wasting away, due to a lack of sound input stimulation.
Stress
Struggling to hear can cause stress-related problems for seniors, including muscle tension, headaches, fatigue, anxiety, frustration, anger, irritability and depression.
Communication Strategies for Talking to a Senior with Hearing Loss
Here are some tips that family members and caregivers can employ to aid in communicating with a senior who has hearing issues:
Face the person directly when in conversation. Do not speak from another room. Instead, position yourself in a well-lit room so the senior can clearly see your face. Not being able to see each other when talking can create unnecessary communication challenges.
Speak clearly, distinctly and slowly. However, do not shout or exaggerate your mouth movements. This act may be insulting to the senior. Also, try to avoid sentences that are too complex with multiple options.
One person at a time! Conversations with the hearing impaired are more difficult if they have to pivot to more than one person at a time. Avoid interruptions in a conversation until you can adequately introduce what you’re about to say.
Make sure the senior is focused on you. Say their name before starting a conversation, which will give him or her time to focus on you.
Keep your hands away from your face. Lip reading may play a large part in the senior’s ability to comprehend what is being said. Also, keep in mind that beards and moustaches can interfere with someone’s ability to understand what is being said as well.
Discover if one ear is better than the other. Make a point of knowing to which ear is best to direct your speech.
Eliminate background noise. For some seniors, this can overwhelm a conversation that is directed toward them. Activities like eating at restaurants or large family gatherings are particularly challenging.
Avoid sudden changes of topic. Rapidly jumping from topic to topic is difficult for seniors with hearing impairment. If you do change the topic, make sure they are aware.
Have the senior repeat specific information. If you are communicating information about a time, place, date or phone number, have the senior repeat the specifics back to you. Better yet, write it down for them!
Pay attention to the senior. Non-verbal cues such as blank or puzzled looks may indicate that what was said did not register with them.
Be patient. It is easy to become frustrated with someone who is hearing impaired. They may ask you (more than once) to repeat what was said. Showing your displeasure is a sure-fire way to shut down the conversation, as they already feel badly about their hearing issues.
Hearing Aids
While hearing aids do not help with all forms of hearing loss, they do provide a way for many seniors and their family members to alleviate the struggles associated with hearing impairment.
There can be a stigma attached to wearing a hearing aid that does not apply to other impairment aids, like prescription glasses. This is because hearing aids are more closely associated with aging. However, today there are invisible hearing aids that can be placed in the ear canal or behind the ear that can be adjusted to meet a person’s hearing needs. Less expensive hearing aids are also becoming more available.
If you are a senior with hearing loss, you know that it is virtually impossible to hide your hearing problem. A hearing aid might be just what you need to get back to effortlessly joining conversations without missing a single word.
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