How seniors (and families) can deal with hearing loss

If you have a loved one who is a senior citizen, it is likely that they have hearing loss. Older adults gradually lose their ability to hear—and because it’s gradual, they may not notice until it interferes with their life. It can impair their abilities to consume entertainment, maintain relationships, or hear alerts and threats. Fortunately, there are professionals and resources who can help them prevent, identify, and treat it. This article describes the causes and signs of hearing loss in senior citizens, as well as the use of hearing aids and their alternatives.

Causes

Hearing loss can be a result of trauma to the inner ear throughout a senior citizen’s life. The most common trauma is loud noise, such as music emitted from ear buds at a high volume. This may cause the inner ear’s hair, which detects sound vibrations, to bend and fall out. The second most common trauma is object insertion, such as cotton swab use. This may cause the inner ear to rupture, become infected, and leak fluid. The effects of a senior citizen’s actions may not appear for years.

Hearing loss can also be a result of a health condition that a senior citizen cannot control. Autoimmune disorders can build abnormal structures in the inner ear. For example, an autoimmune disorder called otosclerosis produces excess bone that blocks sound waves from traveling. Similarly, medications used to ease discomfort can initiate abnormal activities in the inner ear. For example, pain relievers can be responsible for ringing and imbalance. Some senior citizens experience hearing loss as a symptom.

Signs

A senior citizen’s at-home behaviors may provide evidence that they have hearing loss.

One piece of evidence is noticeable changes in their personality. They may act withdrawn or uncooperative because they cannot hear when they are addressed or asked to perform a task.

A second piece of evidence is frequently asking for adjustments. They may ask others to repeat themselves,  “speak up,” or “turn the volume up” when no one else does. A third piece of evidence is reporting unusual sensations. They may describe tingling or pressure in their ears.

Often, other individuals recognize a senior citizen’s hearing loss before they do. A doctor can confirm whether a senior citizen has hearing loss or not. They can do so by searching the senior citizen’s ears for wax buildup and an infection. If the doctor does not discover either of those things, it indicates that the senior citizen’s ears are damaged. They determine which parts of the senior citizen’s ears are damaged by conducting a tuning fork test. Next, they determine how much those parts are damaged by conducting an audiometer test. A doctor can investigate any speculation that a senior citizen has about their hearing.

Hearing aids

Hearing aids are essential for many senior citizens with hearing loss. They are made up of batteries that provide power, microphones that detect sound, and speakers that deliver sound. The speakers deliver sound at a volume high enough to enter the inner ears, but not high enough to harm the inner ears. A hearing aid evaluation—which is covered by Medicaid—reveals if a senior citizen needs hearing aids and what types are most suitable for them. Most types have trial periods that allow experimentation before purchase. Hearing aids may not only improve a senior citizen’s hearing, but also their life.

Alternatives to hearing aids

Older adults who have extreme hearing loss or are deaf may need to use tools that are more advanced than hearing aids. They may need cochlear implants, which are electronic devices that a surgeon embeds behind the ears. While hearing aids send sound waves to the inner ear, cochlear implants send electrical currents to the brain. The electrical currents are silent to people with adequate hearing. So, senior citizens who have extreme hearing loss may have to practice identifying different sounds with cochlear implants. Even senior citizens with severe hearing loss can hear again with cochlear implants.

There are also non-invasive tools available to senior citizens with hearing loss. There are assistive listening devices, such as amplified telephones, that operate at a safe volume that senior citizens with hearing loss can hear (and that they may be able to receive for free). There are also visual alert signalers, such as smartphones that flash and visibly notify senior citizens with hearing loss when they are contacted. Lastly, there are traditional and virtual classes for senior citizens with hearing loss to learn lip reading or American Sign Language. There are ways for senior citizens to cope with their hearing loss if they are unable to see a doctor.

Over time, senior citizens experience a loss of hearing. This is due to loud noise, object insertion, health conditions, and medications that they are exposed to as they age. Senior citizens’ actions and assessment results reveal the severity of their hearing loss. Mild to moderate hearing loss can be treated with hearing aids and assistive listening devices.  Severe hearing loss can be treated with cochlear implants, visual alert signalers, lip reading, and American Sign Language. With the right help, senior citizens’ lives can be less affected by hearing loss—and certainly less than doing nothing.

— Madison Kemp