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Health & Fitness

Caring for Seniors with Loss of Hearing

There can be many reasons why seniors gradually stop interacting with others as they age. One of the painful reasons is, hearing loss. We all have thought for long that hearing loss is a part of the aging process and that its consequences don’t overlap with other aspects of life, except for making them lonelier. But, studies are increasingly proving us wrong. Researchers are arguing that hearing loss “has very real consequences and could lead to cognitive decline.”

In fact, seniors with hearing problems are found to experience cognitive decline 30 to 40% faster than those with normal hearing.

Social Isolation

Seniors with hearing problems experience difficulty in social situations – be it within the family or outside of it. Many factors influence their socializing experience based on the degree of the hearing problem – loud environments, background noises, distance, or even the patience of the person they are talking to.

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Understandably, seniors tend to grow tired of having to deal with all these communication barriers and eventually choose to socially isolate themselves.

How Hearing Loss Affects Cognition

As researchers suggest, the inner ear of a person is what takes in a complex sound and converts it into a signal that brain can understand. So, for people with a hearing loss, the inner ear is no longer capable of processing the complex sound, and the brain gets mixed message as a result. This is why seniors with hearing loss often can’t make out what others are saying even if they heard the ‘sound’ of it.

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However, the brain does attempt to decode the mixed message by drawing upon the prefrontal cortex, the part of the brain which is responsible for the “working memory”. The resources being taken away continuously for auditory processing, seniors eventually come to face cognitive decline.

Taking Care of Them

The first thing a caregiver should know about hearing loss is that being audible alone may not mean that they understood you. “Hearing” involves processing complex sounds, filtering out the unnecessary signals, and interpreting the original message. It could perhaps be called a cognitive process in itself.

Second, yes, the communication is more likely to become frustrating when hearing loss is a central problem. But remember, seniors with hearing loss often end up facing social isolation and, obviously, a feeling of loneliness. You are most likely the only person(s) they communicate with in their whole lives.

Here are a few tips to keep them in the loop without making the communication look tough:

  • Keep their environment quiet as much as possible. This gives them lesser background noises to deal with every time.
  • Never surprise them with sudden appearances (from behind, and the like) and make sure that others don’t, as well. They should be able to know someone coming before they are approached.
  • When you talk to them, talk face to face. Make sure that they are able to easily look at your lip movements.
  • Keep your conversation at a comfortable level to them. Too much talk means that much information to process. Too less can be harmful as well.
  • Don’t make hand gestures if they don’t like it.
  • Love them.
Caregiving should in fact be a painless process to both the senior and the caregiver. If you feel anxious in the communication, then it is likely that they do as well. A caregiver who understands that most of the difficulties in caregiving can be solved getting to know the seniors more, tends to be a happier one

Read the original article here: http://www.allseasons-homecare.com/blog/uncategorized/caring-seniors-loss-hearing/

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