Senior Helpers of Contra Costa recently came across an article published on the AARP website, which discusses a common struggle faced by those interacting with or being a caregiver for the elderly: trying to communicate with individuals suffering from a loss of hearing. We all know that it can be difficult to hold a conversation with someone that has hearing loss. It can be both exhausting and frustrating to constantly repeat yourself or to have to yell each sentence just so that the person can understand what you are saying. Seniors often have decreased hearing in their golden years, but sometimes it can just be a lack of processing of words for patients with Alzheimer's or dementia. The hearing problems often discourage us from trying to communicate with the individual at all; it isn't uncommon for an individual with hearing loss to hear the phrase, "never mind, it's not important."
However, we at Senior Helpers, along with health care experts and those in the hearing loss community believe that it is important, in fact, it is very important. It takes a lot of patience to try and communicate with the elderly who are hard of hearing, but it is vital to their mental wellbeing.
Seniors often that have difficulty understanding and participating in conversations due to hearing problems, and when their family or friends stop trying to communicate, this can lead to the senior feeling insignificant, isolated, and even feel like a burden to those around them.
The AARP article was written by an individual that suffers from hearing loss, and thus we get a first-hand perspective of what it is like when those close to us give up on communicating when things begin to get lost in translation. As the individual emphasizes, those that are hard of hearing want to be included in the conversation, they want to be invited places, and they want to be perceived as a fun and interesting person to be around rather than a drag in the conversation. The main worry of those that have hearing loss is that they will feel isolated and this isolation can lead to decreased mental health and cognitive decline. No one wants to feel isolated or alone, and giving up or ignoring those hard of hearing people that are trying their best to remain a part of the conversation has detrimental effects.
At Senior Helpers Contra Costa, we believe that our caregivers have a responsibility to be a loving and compassionate companion for our seniors, one that engages them in conversation and makes them feel like they are important, a loss of hearing doesn't change this fact. At Senior Helpers we emphasize patience and understanding in our senior care so that those with hearing loss can live the most enjoyable and engaged life as possible.
Senior Helpers of Contra Costa serves families and their seniors in many parts of the East Bay helping to bring to families peace of mind and specialized care for their loved ones. Our caregivers provide professional care to our local seniors in areas such as Danville, Walnut Creek, and Alameda, in the form of check-in home visits, companion care, Alzheimer’s and dementia care, housekeeping, and many more. For more information on how you can discuss a possible caregiver from Senior Helpers, call 925-268-8327 or visit our website: http://www.seniorhelpers.com/contracosta/