Presbycusis-Hearing Loss in Elderly Parents

What is it like to have Presbycusis hearing loss and to cope with a deaf relative, parent, child or friend, how do you deal with communicating with them, how do 'they' feel? Writing about deaf awarenes and especially my personal experiences with family members who are almost deaf, is really something I find helps with learning about and dealing with those relationships and how we each approach them.

In my previous deaf awareness article about tinnitus hearing loss, I described my personal experiences, the causes and my treatment for that condition, this is about Presbycusis, hearing loss elderly, in particular my parents who are part of an ageing generation, a growing community of those who suffer varying degrees of hearing loss. In particular about my father and his approach to being almost totally deaf, how he deals with it and why my mother is losing patience with him, she is hard of hearing as well, why they constantly argue and why he turns off his hearing aids.

As an older person do you notice yourself saying 'what'? more often, when someone is speaking to you? Is the TV turned up really loud more often so you can hear it properly? I know I am already doing this. In social situations I found myself not able to quite hear or understand what people were saying, and repeatedly asking them to repeat themselves, in the end I would just nod and smile in agreement, the background noise would drown out any audible voice. Some people with significant hearing loss may also experience lower self esteem, less confidence, because of an impaired ability to successfully communicate with others.

You know, age related hearing loss, which is also known as Presbycusis, is widely suffered by the aging population, which happens to include my parents. Their situation is not unique by any means, because, as many other baby boomers age and their hearing progressively declines, it will become encumbent on governments and organizations alike to provide extra specialized care, services and facilities to cope with this emerging situation.

According to the World Federation of the Deaf, there are about 70 million deaf people worldwide, mostly in developing countries. This figure is set to explode because of the huge baby boomer generation. The "WFD works closely with the UN and its various agencies in promoting the human rights of Deaf people in accordance with the principles and objectives of the UN Charter, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other general acts and
recommendations of the UN and its specialised agencies."

Dad's early hearing loss is attributed to something called 'sensori neural' hearing loss, which is caused by exposure to loud noise, disease like meningitis and of course ageing. My old man is a quiet person who rarely spoke to me or my sister ever in our life, other than when he was drunk. (he doesn't drink anymore now, also he just got through lung cancer surgery etc.) We never really new how he felt about his life, or how he felt about us, he just never said. He is a man who struggled with his temper and with people and social situations in general. When his hearing deteriorated further, later in life, for different reasons, presbycusis, it became almost unbearable for him and my mother.

At times it was a toxic relationship between them, other times it was hilarious, let me explain.My mother has a very extraverted personality, she is a 'people' person and loved communicating, would always go out of her way to help someone else, regardless of who they were or where they came from. Dad didn't like that, he on the other hand is an introvert, and would happily live the life of a hermit, so they conflicted always.

She had many friends, he had none, and I think he resented having to share her. He wears hearing aids in both ears now, which he sees as an advantage, because when she nags him he turns them down and ignores her. She gets angry, because he turned them down and then yells at him, he takes out the hearing aids altogether and walks away which aggravates her even more, he mumbles something back, she can't hear him either and so the cycle continues.

You see, she suffers from presbycusis too, her hearing is deteriorating slowly as well with age. They both get agitated with each other having to repeat themselves over and over, something I and others are guilty of as well.

I have mentioned to them that learning sign language might be a worthwhile alternative, their response to each other was by giving the middle finger salute, or 'bird' (in humor of course), but, all jokes aside, they realize that they need to be patient with each other and make allowances for their elderly hearing loss. The situation they're in can be hilarious to watch and listen to at times, but the reality of losing your hearing is not.

If you suspect or feel that you may be experiencing the symptoms of presbycusis hearing loss and your own hearing might be deteriorating, go and have a hearing test, you can take one online right here if you wish, this test is at phonak.com,before you go and get tested by a specialist. Early deaf awareness and prevention could preserve that all important sense of hearing.

The next time you speak to someone with hearing loss, remember these helpful tips on communicating with a hearing impaired person:

#Get the person’s attention

#Face the person and stand close to them

#Have the light on your face and don’t cover your mouth

#Speak more slowly than usual

#Raise your voice if you have to, but try not to shout

#Speak expressively and use face, hand and body movements

#Be ready to use a pen and paper.

Patience and understanding of those who suffer a degree of hearing loss goes a long way to bridging the communication difficulties, it's not hard to be polite and helpful.