November 3, 2022
Hearing loss can happen for various reasons – exposure to loud noise, heredity, disease, and age. Sometimes it comes on so slowly that the person suffering from hearing loss hasn’t noticed it. They’ve just slowly been turning up the television and radio. Or, maybe they’ve been asking people to repeat themselves a bit more often.
If you ask about them having a hearing problem, they may deny it. Additionally, they may say they hear everything they want to hear just fine. However, losing hearing not only takes away hearing the joyful things in life – birds singing, kids laughing, the wind blowing through trees. But it also reduces the ability to hear important alarms, like the timer going off on the stove or a storm warning on the phone.
So what should you look for if you believe your parent may have some hearing loss that should be evaluated? You and her companion care at home team can look for the following symptoms in your parent.
Having trouble hearing while on the phone
Back when most people used landlines, this was more noticeable because there wasn’t a volume control. But now with most cell phones, the owner can increase volume as needed. But it only goes so far. When you chat with your parent, you may find he is having a hard time hearing you. However, it might not be his phone. It might be his hearing.
Struggling to follow conversations with multiple people
Your parent might still follow along if you’re speaking to her alone, but add in someone like her companion care at home provider, and with hearing loss, she might have a more difficult time following along. You might notice her simply nodding along to the conversation. If you suspect this, stop in the middle of the conversation and ask her to restate what was just said.
Turning up the volume on everything
As mentioned before, your parent may try to make up for her hearing loss by turning up the volume on her television, her radio, and anything else she can adjust. If your companion care at home provider has to keep turning down the TV when she visits because it’s so loud, your parent should have her hearing checked by a professional. If she lives in a community, those around her will appreciate not having to listen to whatever show she watches every time she turns on the TV.
Having issues hearing women’s or children’s voices
Because women and children often have softer, higher-pitched voices, your parent might struggle to hear these people first. She might ask them to repeat themselves when they try to tell her something.
A simple hearing test can help you determine how to help your parent regain her hearing and let her enjoy the world and all its sounds again. It should be part of her regular exams so that it doesn’t get too bad before some help is given.
