According to the World Health Organization (WHO), March 3 is World Hearing Day. It is a day set aside to help people across the planet understand the importance of taking care of their hearing so that they can enjoy listening to the sounds of the world around them throughout their lives. Hearing loss can be so gradual in the elderly, that many times, an elderly loved one doesn’t realize that his hearing is impaired until it greatly interferes with his daily living. He keeps making small adjustments to his routines to try to make up for the hearing loss, but the sooner you can help your loved one realize he has a hearing loss, the sooner he can get help for his hearing loss and start hearing the world around him more clearly again. Informing people around him, like his companion care at home aide, about his hearing loss can benefit him in adjusting to the situation.
Seven Signs of Hearing Loss in Your Elderly Loved One (that he might not tell you)
- Your loved one struggles to hear what you are saying when there are other noises present like in a crowded store or on a busy street.
- Constantly asking people to repeat themselves or responding to conversations with statements that don’t reflect the actual content of the conversation.
- Having the volume of all of his devices at full blast or using closed captioning on many of his devices to help him understand what was said.
- Not hearing high-pitched sounds. He may not hear his phone beep with an alert or not hear the birds outside his window.
- He complains about constant ringing or buzzing in his ears.
- He starts withdrawing from conversations and prefers to be alone at family functions.
- He struggles to have conversations with smaller children or people who have accents.
Common Causes of Hearing Loss
If your loved one is over 75, he has more than a 50% chance of having some hearing loss. While getting older and living in a loud environment (or having spent years working in a loud environment) are natural causes of hearing loss, there are other common causes of hearing loss as well that should be explored to find relief.
- Ear infections
- Wax Buildup
- A Ruptured Eardrum
- Unusual Bone Growth or Tumors
- High doses of aspirin and other pain relievers
Helping Your Loved One Hear Better
If the hearing loss is irreversible, there are steps you can take at home to help him hear better as well as when he’s out and about.
First, let family members and care providers like his companion care at home attendant know that he has hearing loss. That way when someone like his companion care at home provider interacts with him, they’ll know to take the necessary steps to ensure he can hear them well.
Next, tell him not to be ashamed about his hearing loss but to take proactive measures to hear better. He should face the person speaking to him and focus on their face. Remind him that it’s okay to ask someone to repeat themselves. If he still doesn’t understand what they’ve said, ask them to say it in a new way. It may just be a particular consonant sound he can’t pick up clearly and a different word will make it clearer.
Finally, help him adapt his environment to better hearing by eliminating excess background noise.
Little steps like this can help your loved one hear better and connect with the world and the people around him.
If you or an aging loved one are considering Companion Care at Home Services in Tustin CA, please call the caring staff at Canaan Home Care today! 1-844-CANAAN-1 (1-844-226-2261)
Canaan Home Care – A Premier Provider of Senior Home Care in the La Jolla, Del Mar, San Diego, Rancho Santa Fe, Newport Beach, Laguna Beach, Huntington Beach, Irvine, Tustin, and Manhattan Beach areas.
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