Hearing loss is common among seniors. More than 50 percent of those 75 years and older have some form of hearing loss. Usually, once hearing is lost, there isn’t a way to restore it physically, but your loved one can find solutions to help him continue to live at home independently and safely. If your loved one wants to remain in his home, a 24-hour home care team can ensure that someone will always be there if your loved one needs assistance hearing and reacting to an important sound.
Hearing Loss Symptoms
Hearing loss is most commonly a slow process. Many seniors lose hearing so slowly that they don’t notice the changes in their hearing until a good portion of it is gone. Instead, they’ve simply made adjustments to the world around them, trying to compensate for their failing hearing instead of visiting a doctor to address the problem right away. It is often family and friends who notice their hearing loss before they do.
- Sounds begin to sound muffled. Specific parts of speech may be hard to distinguish from others, or an overall environment (like a bustling city street) may become one large noise where everything blends.
- Consonants become especially difficult to distinguish, and he often mishears words spoken to him.
- Background noise can become almost unbearable.
- Your loved one may become more withdrawn from large social gatherings where he cannot hear well.
- Volume levels of personal devices like laptops, televisions, and phones may be set very high.
Four Common Causes of Hearing Loss
A ruptured ear drum. This usually creates an immediate loss of hearing as the eardrum becomes perforated or bursts due to an extremely loud noise, an infection, or a sudden change in pressure.
Earwax Buildup. Some elderly people have bodies that produce too much earwax, and that earwax gets compacted in the ear canal and prevents sound waves from entering.
Unusual bone growths or tumors in the outer or middle ear.
Inner ear damage. This is the most common cause of hearing loss and is often due to aging and the wear and tear of the nerve cells or hairs of the cochlea that are responsible for sending sound signals to the brain. It can affect how well your loved one can hear high-pitched sounds or distinguish a specific sound in a loud environment (such as a conversation in a loud restaurant).
Staying Safe at Home with Hearing Loss
Your loved one will work with his medical care team to find the causes of his hearing loss and possible solutions. He might be instructed to change some habits he has, receive treatment or surgery, or have a hearing device created for him to improve his hearing.
These steps may improve his hearing but might not fully restore it, still making it risky for your loved one to live alone since he may not be able to hear or react to an emergency alarm, hear a guest arriving at his residence, or communicate with others over the phone. With a 24-hour home care team, someone is always awake so your loved one can sleep soundly, knowing that if there is an emergency in the middle of the night, his 24-hour home care provider will hear it and make sure your loved one takes the appropriate actions to be safe.
If you or an aging loved one are considering 24-Hour Home Care Services in Elizabethtown PA, please contact the caring staff at Extended Family Care Lancaster today. Call (717) 391-6363
Extended Family Care Lancaster is a Trusted Home Care Agency in Lancaster, Pennsylvania including Columbia, Elizabethtown, Ephrata, Hershey, Lebanon, Lititz, Manheim, New Holland, and Paradise.
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