Communication with someone with hearing loss can be awkward, especially when that person is your aging parent. When a parent begins to lose their hearing, their family must learn to adjust to the new realities.
According to the Hearing Loss Association of America, 8.5% of adults aged 55 to 64 have disabling hearing loss. That number rises to almost 25% for adults aged 65 to 74. Learning techniques to cope with a parent’s hearing loss can relieve stress on both you and them.
What Causes Hearing Loss?
Hearing loss most frequently occurs in seniors due to the natural process of aging, disease, heredity, or because of noise exposure. Although medical conditions such as diabetes and medications such as chemotherapy can affect hearing, seniors with hearing impairment usually have a combination of age-related hearing loss and noise-induced hearing loss.
Age-related hearing loss, known as presbycusis, usually develops slowly and usually occurs in both ears. Because it develops gradually, older people often do not recognize that their hearing has deteriorated. Some seniors become frustrated by their inability to understand others and tell family members they “just need to speak more clearly” or to stop mumbling.
Family members, in turn, become impatient with their loved ones for not recognizing that hearing loss is the culprit.
When you recognize hearing loss in your parent, the first thing you should do is to have it evaluated. At El Dorado Hearing, a specialist can do a thorough evaluation so that you and your parent can better understand how to manage it.
Emotions of Hearing Loss
Losing hearing can be traumatic for seniors. They may feel they are losing access to things they enjoy, such as listening to music, or they may be concerned about losing their independence.
When seniors realize they have trouble hearing, they may be embarrassed by their hearing loss, fearing that constantly asking someone to repeat missed words will make them look incompetent.
They may worry that other people will believe that they are being ignored if the senior fails to respond to them. Helping your aging parent deal with these emotions is part of learning to communicate with them.
Difficulties of Hearing Loss
Hearing loss impacts many aspects of seniors’ quality of life. Their social life may become limited because of embarrassment or the extra effort required to understand social situations. This can cause seniors to withdraw from social activities such as golf, church, or clubs, making them feel isolated and depressed.
You can help ease anxiety and their sense of isolation by improving your ability to communicate with them.
How to improve communications with your parent with hearing loss
Understand that there are things that they need to feel included and that there are situations that make them feel singled out. Before trying anything, think about how you would want your family to respond to you if you developed hearing loss. Let that empathy guide your interactions with your parent.
Next, Use these techniques to help you communicate with them:
- Make sure you have their attention before you start a conversation. Speaking their name first and waiting for them to acknowledge that you have their attention is an excellent way to help them focus on you.
- Provide a quiet environment so that they can distinguish sounds. Turn down the television volume or step outside crowded rooms when conversing.
- When in a group setting, such as eating at the table or playing a board game with grandchildren, encourage family members to speak one at a time instead of talking over each other. People with hearing loss often have trouble distinguishing who is speaking in a noisy environment. Make it easy for them to follow the conversation.
- Be patient while they try to make connections. The effort required to interpret what someone is saying can be exhausting. A person with hearing loss must concentrate intently on the speaker and try to fill in any gaps in their words.
- Repeat words or phrases when asked or when the hard-of-hearing person looks confused. Bonus points are awarded if you can accomplish this without drawing attention to it.
- Speak clearly and slowly, so they have time to process words. Don’t exaggerate words as if speaking in slow motion.
- Increase your volume a little but don’t shout.
- Face them when speaking and make sure you are in a well-lit place. Facial expressions and lip-reading can help them understand a conversation.
- Educate yourself and your family members about hearing loss. Even young children can adapt to the needs of a grandparent with hearing loss.
Helping your aging parent realize that you are willing to make the extra effort required to communicate with them can help them feel comfortable and confident in approaching social situations.
Hearing loss is a treatable condition. Learning coping skills is the first step. El Dorado Hearing can not only assist you in evaluating your parent’s hearing loss but can help you find treatment options to improve your parent’s quality of life. Make an appointment today.
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