For Caregivers & Family Members: Helping Mom & Dad With Hearing Loss
Hearing is one of the most important senses, so it’s no wonder that listening difficulties can affect quality of life. In fact, hearing loss can go hand in hand with physical, mental, social, and even financial challenges, making timely hearing evaluations and appropriate treatment all the more important. If you have older parents or are caring for seniors with potential hearing loss, you can play a big role in helping them stay empowered, connected, and well through better hearing.
What’s The First Step?
Getting to the bottom of hearing problems starts with scheduling an evaluation. It’s quick, painless, and a great way to get key questions about hearing health and wellness answered. At Sound Advice Hearing, this critical appointment includes:
- A clinic tour
- An opportunity to meet the team
- Hearing test in a soundproof booth
- Physical ear examination to check for issues such as earwax
- Discussion of the situations in which your loved one would like improved hearing
- Review of the results and exploration of solutions tailored to your loved one’s needs
- Chance to test-drive hearing technology to experience the difference it can make
- Patient education throughout the visit to help your loved one make an informed decision
How Can We Prepare For The Appointment?
Here are three things you can do:
- Compile information — including over-the-counter and prescription medications, current medical diagnoses, and recent injuries – that can provide a picture of the patient’s medical history.
- Note the situations in which it seems most challenging for the person to hear — whether around the dinner table with family, during TV time, at outings with friends, or other circumstances.
- Plan to accompany the person to the appointment, for emotional support, additional recall of key points of the visit at a later time, and helpful context in describing daily hearing difficulties.
Do Hearing Aids Really Make a Difference?
More than many people may realize. Most hearing loss can be effectively managed with customized hearing technology, but only a fraction of people who could benefit actually use it. Adults treated for hearing loss, however, have reported significant improvement in important aspects of life, such as social engagement, mental health, relationships at home, and sense of security. Plus, today’s cutting-edge devices make it easier than ever to hear in noisy environments, stream TV and other audio directly to the ears, confidently carry a phone conversation, track brain and body health, and so much more.
Checking for Hearing Loss
Does Mom or Dad:
- Have difficulty following phone conversations?
- Regularly turn up the television volume?
- Complain that everyone seems to mumble?
- Hear people speak but struggle to understand what they’re saying?
- Limit social engagements or their willingness to be around crowds?
- Frequently ask people to repeat themselves?
Answering “yes” to any of these questions could mean your loved one has a hearing loss. Don’t wait. Call us for a hearing consultation today.