What Can Your Parent Do to Protect Their Hearing as They Age?
Elderly Care Darby PA
By the age of 65, one out of every three adults throughout the United States suffers from some degree of hearing loss. This means that 30 percent of the people who are over the age of 64 are not able to hear as effectively as they used to. While this hearing loss can range from very mild to quite severe, even if there is only mild to moderate hearing loss it can have a very serious impact on your elderly parent’s daily functioning and quality of life. As their family caregiver, you can help your elderly parent to maintain a better quality of life by protecting their hearing as they age.
It is important to note that most elderly adults who are dealing with hearing loss as they get older are dealing with age-related hearing loss, also known as presbycusis. This is a condition characterized by changes to the internal structure of the inner ear that causes hearing to become less distinct over time. This can happen very gradually and is irreversible. Other older adults, however, may deal with hearing loss related to other issues that may be preventable and reversible.
Some things that you and your elderly parent can do to help protect their hearing as they age include:
• Protect their ears from noise. The leading cause of non-age related hearing loss is exposure to noise. A high percentage of elders who deal with this type of hearing loss worked in industries that are very loud, such as factory or airline work, or listened to extremely loud music repeatedly. As your parent gets older, encourage them to protect their ears from noise to help reduce the chances that their hearing will get worse. This includes wearing noise-cancelling headphones when they are exposed to loud sounds such as lawn equipment or power tools and not listening to music or television at high volumes through headphones.
• Protect their ears from damage. Trauma to the inside of the ear can cause hearing loss as well as make the ears vulnerable to infection that can further the risk for hearing loss. Help your parent protect their ears from this type of damage by discouraging them from putting anything into the ear canal. This includes tools such as bobby pins, tweezers, or hair clippers, as well as hygiene supplies such as cotton swabs. If your parent feels the need to clean their ears, they should only clean the outer edges of the ear and not put the instrument into the actual canal.
• Keep the ears clean. Many adults who think that they are suffering from hearing loss are actually dealing with a buildup of earwax that blocks the ear and prevents the sound from moving through. Usually the body naturally dries up the wax, moves it to the opening of the canal through movements such as chewing, and then allows it to tumble out. Sometimes, however, this does not happen. If your parent has visible earwax or is suffering from diminished hearing, bring them to their doctor for safe and healthy wax removal. Do not attempt removal efforts such as ear candling as this can cause serious injury.
Source: https://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/age-related-hearing-loss
If you or an aging loved one are considering Elderly Care Services in Darby PA, please contact the caring staff at True Direct Home Health Care today.
Doc, as he is called by everyone - staff, patients and clients - first experienced home health care and hospice care while as a colleg student at King's College as he cared for his mother every day while she first battled COPD and then lung cancer. It was during this time that he came to understand that caring for a patient was more than just clinical expertise.
"Admittedly, my strongest attribute is my communication skills and the simple fact that I love to help people. Even the smallest thing you can do for someone really can mean so much to them long term. In fact, it could change them forever. That's what providing quality personal home health care should be all about."
In his spare time, he cooks for homeless shelters and children's music and arts events. He also is highly involved in his local youth sports soccer academy as a coach and Board member.
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