Deaf Senior Citizens

Seniors with hearing loss have many levels of deafness, and if left untreated the issue can get worse, resulting in being fully deaf.

It is really important that we understand how important it is to seek help as soon as possible. There are some great hearing aids on the market these days, and there is nothing to be embarrassed about when wearing one.

My own mother is one of these partially deaf senior citizens who is in denial about her hearing. She misses out on our conversations at family functions, when we are driving out and about, and so much more! Telephone conversations are almost non-existent as she answers questions with completely different answers.

Mom recently got hearing aids and family often forgets she has them on, and is amazed that she answered correctly and appropriately... it's great. She's even mentioned the birds chirping outdoors -- you don't realize the small things in life that you are missing out on and don't even know it.

Age Related Deafness 

This is called Presbycusis - many deaf senior citizens will either have hard trouble hearing people or will have a low tolerance to loud noises. My mother (age 83) is really not able to speak on the phone well (she does, but often answers a different question than that asked, or talks about a completely different topic), and her TV is very loud!

Conductive hearing loss

You can also suffer from hearing loss due to a build up ear wax (something simple for the doctor to correct), where there is a blockage between the inner ear and eardrum. This is often cause by a build up of ear wax, fluid on the ear drum or an ear infection. These can be treated safely at home, but if you are in any doubt or pain then you should seek medical advice.

Tinnitus

There is also ringing in the ears or sometimes a continuous noise can be heard. This deafness varies from person to person and the treatments are very basic. A hearing aid can be used to make other sounds louder and make the tinnitus noise less apparent.

You could also have hearing issues due to exposure to very loud noises over a period of time (all boomers who listened to loud rock 'n roll over many years), viral infections, heart conditions and maybe even a hereditary condition.

There are different types of hearing tests to determine how deaf you actually are. As with vision or other medical issues, there are varying degrees of deafness.

Hearing Aids

Hearing aids, previously a swear word to my mother... she wouldn't even discuss them. Nowadays, hearing aids are so modern with today's technology. These are getting smaller and smaller, and they can be hardly noticed anymore, they sit very comfortably on the ear.

You can often try a hearing aid for a trial period to ensure that you are comfortable with it (my mother had a full 60 days to return it) and learn how to change the batteries and operate it properly.

There are some leading brands for hearing aids for deaf senior citizens, these include Siemens, Starkey and Beltone all of these companies offer a range of hearing aids. Put any of these brands into the Google Search box above and learn more!

They are all lightweight durable and very cost effective, and you can get virtually invisible hearing aids for those people who are vain.

Although there are some great cures and treatments now available, the first step is recognizing that you are going deaf. You must let people know that you are finding it difficult to hear them, and let them know that you don't understand them.

You can always ask people to speak slower, and that there is no need to shout at you. In fact, many times, shouting means a higher tone and you might actually need them to speak in a lower tone.. You want to be treated just the same as before, but you simply find it harder to hear.

With today technology nobody has to live in a deaf, silent world, and you don't want to miss out on all of your favorite things because you are too proud or vain to ask for help.

Please consider what you are missing out on, like my mother -- she didn't hear our "real" conversations on the phone, didn't hear the grand kids and daughters at family dinners, had to turn the TV volume on HIGH (thus missed phone calls and ringing door bells).

This is the only life you've got.. LIVE IT WELL!