How Will My Loved One Be Cared For In Senior Living With Hearing Loss?
You just moved your dad into a Senior Living Community. He was on board with the move and everything went smoothly. But the next time you visit you find out that he hates eating in the dining room. Of course youâre likeâŠbut dadâŠall three meals are included! Is it the food? Is it the people? Sometimes the answer isnât what we expect.
Hi and welcome to the show! So from the title of this weekâs post you can guess why some seniors hate eating in the dining room of a Senior Living Community. Full disclosureâŠI suffer from hearing loss too. It all goes back to childhood for me and a lot of ear infections and itâs very possible youâve been in a conversation with me in a crowded or noisy room and thought to yourselfâŠI donât think she understood what I saidâŠ. It absolutely happens!
Of course as we age our hearing can get worse. Many of our clients suffer from hearing loss and many families have shared their struggles with hearing aids. My mom refuses to wear them or dad keeps losing them and theyâre so expensive! We hear other things like dad isnât very social anymore but he used to be the life of the party! Or I donât know if dad can live in a senior community. He has to have to TV up really loud! Well I can relate to that one too.
Socialization is one of the most common reasons families choose to move their parents from their home. And that makes sense! Home can be lonely if youâre the only one there! Even if you visit your mom and dad every day.
You know what else is lonely? When you canât hear the conversation and youâre tired of saying âwhat?â every time someone speaks. But hearing loss is usually progressive and so for most families itâs just something they get used toâŠtalking louder or repeating themselves. We can also get very good at covering for our hearing loss.
Most of the time hearing loss isnât something we talk about when considering making a move to a Senior Living Community because letâs face it you probably made the move for what would be considered more important reasons, like mom not being safe at home and needing help with meals and medications.
But the sad truth is that if hearing loss is significant it can impact that day to day care as well as those social interactions with others.
So here are a few things to try to make this an easier transition and a better experience.
- Assess the situation.
What level of hearing loss is there? Is there a better ear? Are there better hearing aids available? Do the hearing aids just need to be cleaned or does your loved one need help maintaining them or putting them in?
After you know exactly what the obstacles are you can come up with a plan. I worked with one family whose mom refused to wear hearing aids so I suggested headphones with a microphone attached. The staff and family simply spoke into the microphone and their mom was able to hear a little better. Iâll put a link to one of the products that Iâm talking about in the doable downloads link. Itâs something you can find on Amazon. With technology there are so many options including bluetooth headphones for that loud TV.
I also totally get it! Thereâs a stigma with things like walkers and hearing aids. We might need them but it can be difficult to face that fact. It makes us feel like weâre getting older and we are.
- Communicate with staff.
Itâs important to work together with the staff to make things a bit easier. Is there a quieter area of the dining room where your mom can sit so that itâs easier to hear? Try to make sure sheâs at that table and sitting in such a way that favors that better ear. Now this isnât always possible because some communities have assigned seating but itâs definitely worth bringing up before move-in day. The more time they have the easier it will be to make these changes.
The other thing you can do is ask to add the cleaning and care of the hearing aids to the care plan. This should ensure that theyâre being cleaned, batteries changed and that theyâre put in properly as well.
Make sure all staff know which ear is that better ear. There are also cards you can get to help remind the staff that your mom or dad has hearing loss and these are also great for them to hand out when the community has outings like going out to eat!
Of course this all depends on your loved oneâs level of comfort with their own hearing loss. But with new technology, assistance with that technology, communication and having a plan in place it can help improve the senior community experience⊠the care, and making new friends even in that dining room.
If youâd like to check out our blog post in podcast form, be sure to take a listen HERE!
Click HERE for our Doable Download, which provides the resources referenced in the post
