Hello! Hello!! What did you say? I’m not hearing you. Speak louder; Come again.
You probably have had to repeat yourself severally in telephone conversations with elderly adult, adults from over age 65 and wondering what the problems were. At first you may think it’s the device and or telephone service providers that are acting up, but the issue is, however, beyond network. The issue is a more fundamental problem of hearing loss common in older adults, medically known as presbycusis. Even in interpersonal communication involving older adults, decibel level has to go up before any meaningful conversation can happen.
Statistics, according to National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, show that about one-third of adults between 65 and 70 have some degree of hearing loss, About half of all people 75 and older have hearing loss.
We all pray for longevity with no health challenges. Rowe &Kahn (1997) describe successful, healthy aging as not only avoiding disease and disability, but also as maintaining high cognitive and physical functioning and active involvement in society. Older citizens want to remain productive; they want to stay mentally and physically active, they want to help others as well as socialize, and to learn new things. Yet, Cognitive functioning remains lower in individuals with hearing loss.
A 2006 audiology report titled Age Wave Cometh describes hearing loss of senior citizens thus: “frisky,” “fragile,” and “frail”. Communication according to the report plays a critical role in ensuring independence, stimulating thinking, maintaining social networks, enhancing well-being, facilitating adaptation to change, and participating in the activities of life. The report says aging results in anatomical and physiological changes to the auditory and balance systems that result in hearing loss
Medical conditions commonly experienced by older individuals can accelerate presbycusis or hearing loss. Recent investigations by National Technical Institute for the Deaf have found evidence linking type II diabetics, a common ailment of senior citizens, to hearing loss. Other geriatric medical condition that predisposes senior citizens to hearing loss is Alzheimer.
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Presbycusis and hearing impairment
Age-related hearing impairment (presbycusis) is characterized by reduced hearing sensitivity and speech understanding in noisy environments, and an impaired ability to localize sound sources. Studies have indicated that many senior citizens living with hearing impairments rarely admit the problem talk less of talking to specialists.
The auditory system according to experts is restricted to the outer ear, middle ear, and the inner ear and is associated with the hearing center in the brain via the hearing nerve. Sound perceived by humans, they say, range from 20 to 20,000 Hz. Common speech is often in the range of 200–800 Hz and the volumes of speech vary between 30 dB (whisper) and 80 dB (shouting).
A study titled Hearing Impairment in Old Age by Gro Gade Haanes (2017) noted age-related hearing loss starts from about 40 years of age when the high tones disappear. However, for many elderlies it is usually not a real problem before reaching the age of maybe 75–80 years when consonants such as s, sh, f, v, t, p, and b disappear because their energy is concentrated around the frequencies 2000–8000 Hz. Thus, with increasing age, hearing ability progressively weakens, especially the ability to hear high-frequency sounds and to distinguish one sound from another.
The study asserted that some elderly people may also have difficulties in admitting that they have reduced hearing. Some underestimate their hearing loss and think that they have better hearing than they actually do.
Causes of hearing loss
As we get older, we experience a number of changes in the way our body functions. Hearing loss, according to medical experts, occurs when there is degeneration within the inner ear and along the nerve pathways to the brain that impact our hearing. Changes in the inner ear that can cause hearing loss include:
-changes in the structures of the inner ear
-changes in blood flow to the ear
-impairment in the nerves responsible for hearing
-changes in the way that the brain processes speech and sound
-damage to the tiny hairs in the ear that are responsible for transmitting sound to the brain
Risk Factors
-diabetes
-exposure to loud noises
-use of certain medications
-family history of hearing loss
-smoking
Credit Daily Advent Nigeria
Symptoms of hearing loss
Age-related hearing loss typically begin with an inability to hear high-pitched sounds such as difficulty hearing the voices of females or children. You may also have difficulty hearing background noises or difficulty hearing others speak clearly. Other symptoms that may occur include:
-certain sounds seeming overly loud
-difficulty hearing in areas that are noisy
-difficulty hearing the difference between “s” and “th” sounds
-ringing in the ears
-turning up the volume on the television or radio louder than normal
-asking people to repeat themselves
-being unable to understand conversations over the telephone
Diagnosis & Treatment
-Full physical exam to rule out other causes of hearing loss. They may also look inside the ears using an otoscope.
Hearing test to help determine how much hearing loss has occurred.
Treatment
-hearing aids to help hear better
-assistive devices, such as telephone amplifiers
-lessons in sign language or lip reading (for severe hearing loss)
Prevention Tips
You may not be able prevent age-related hearing loss. However, you can take steps to keep it from getting worse.
-Avoid repetitive exposure to loud sounds.
-Wear ear protection in places where there are loud sounds.
-Control your blood sugar if you have diabetes.
Helping Senior Citizens hear better
- Lowering or removing background noise such as music, radio, TV, talk, traffic, and so on.
- Have good lighting so the hearing-impaired person can see the face of the person who is speaking and read the lips and facial expression.
- Provide good information both to the elderly and to his/her family and friends.
- Do not speak until the person who is hearing is aware that you want to say something.
- Be close to the person who is hearing, but not too close and do not turn the face away from the person you are talking to.
- Speak quiet and a little slower than normal.
- Speak clearly and use the lips, but do not exaggerate.
- Use normal strength of the voice. Do not shout and certainly not against the hearing aid if the person is using one.
- Be aware of the body language of the hearing-impaired person.
- Do not cover the mouth with your hand when you speak.
- Do not have anything in your mouth when speaking.
- Give key words for the topics of the conversation when there are many present.
- If someone laughs, explain what the laughing subject is.
- Hearing impaired people have difficulties to tell the difference between consonants like f and s and p or t. It is therefore important sometimes to spell out the words to avoid misunderstandings.
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Kudos for the details.
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