As our loved ones age, it is common to transition into a life at a nursing home or long-term care facility. Whether it’s a parent or spouse, supporting a love one living in a nursing home can be challenging for everyone. For those of you who have loved ones with hearing loss living in a nursing home, here are a few tips to ease the transition in the nursing home, and find the best way to support your loved one.
Make Sure Your Loved One Uses Their Hearing Aids
Hearing loss is extremely common among seniors, with half of all seniors over the age of 75 struggling to hear. It’s not surprising then that many seniors in nursing homes have hearing aids. What is surprising though is that many don’t wear their hearing devices! Sometimes it’s just a matter of forgetting to put it in, but often there are more issues, like an ill-fitting device that causes pain or feedback, or a device that’s simply not working properly. Sometimes there’s just no one around to help put it in on those days their hands a bit more shaky than usual.
Why It’s Important to Wear Hearing Aids
Whatever the case may be, if your loved one spends most of their time without the help of a hearing aid, they’re living in a confusing world, where sounds are muffled, and where simple communication becomes a terrible struggle. They won’t be able to interact with their friends during dinner, or take part in afternoon activities. Not being able to hear will lead to isolation, and rapid cognitive decline. Living with untreated hearing loss has also been linked to an earlier onset of dementia, as well as increased anxiety, fear, and anger.
The first step in supporting your loved one with hearing loss is to make sure their hearing aid fits well and is comfortable. Make sure their hearing aid is working well, and programmed to match their unique hearing needs. You can also approach the staff and ask them to help your loved one put in or take out their hearing aid if they need a bit of extra help.
Don’t Lose the Hearing Aids
In a nursing home where many seniors have hearing aids, it’s important that the devices don’t get mixed up. It’s possible a hearing aid fell out, or a nurse put a hearing aid in her pocket while helping someone into bed, and forgot to leave it on the nightstand. To avoid losing or swapping hearing aids, take a minute to label your loved one’s devices. Write their name on the back of the device with a permanent marker, and rest easy knowing the devices will always find their way back to where they belong.
Keep the Hearing Aids Clean
Keeping your loved one’s hearing aids clean is one of the most important things you can do to make sure they’re working properly, and helping your loved one hear. Cleaning your loved one’s hearing aids is not something the nursing staff will have time to do, but it will only take you a few minutes to do. Once a week or so, take the time to thoroughly clean the hearing aids using a soft, dry cloth. Make sure there is no dirt, debris, or earwax stuck to the hearing device, or blocking any of the vents. This is also a great time to check the batteries, and make sure the hearing aids are in tip top shape.
Develop a Routine
Developing a routine will help your loved one remember to put in their hearing aids. Putting them into a case every night and taking them out every morning is a great habit to get into so that your loved one will always remember to slip in their hearing aids in the morning. Keep a storage case on the nightstand is also a good way to make sure the devices won’t accidentally get knocked under the bed, or fall off the table.
For your loved one in a nursing home, regular hearing assessments are extremely important. Visit us at HearCare where we care about your loved one’s hearing health. We recommend yearly checkups, and further visits if you notice any sudden changes in your loved one’s hearing, or a problem with the hearing devices. Making sure your loved one’s hearing aids are up to date and functioning will lead to improvements in both their health and wellness.