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Blindness cuts us off from things, but deafness cuts us off from people.
Helen Keller, as cited by Claudia Dewane, DEd, LCSW, Summer 2010
Hearing Loss and Grief
Hearing loss contributes to diminished quality of life for seniors who find it difficult to hear. The stages of grief associated with a death are similar to that to losing one’s ability to hear. I will provide more information about AudioCardio that I have been using since March 2020 and how it can help improve your hearing at the conclusion of this article.
Why Hearing Loss is An Invisible Disability
Coping with any type of disability, physical or emotional, has its challenges. Hearing loss is an invisible handicap. “Hearing loss is America’s silent epidemic”, JoAnn Jenkins wrote for AARP in 2018. People with hearing loss have reported being unable to hear when there is a crowd and/or music. Hearing impaired seniors occasionally hear “never mind, it’s not important” in an unintentional but hurtful implication that they are not important enough to include in a conversation, Claudia Dewane noted in the summer of 2010.
Seniors Lose Hearing As They Grow Older
Hearing loss diminishes the older people get. Thirty percent of people in their 50s suffer from hearing loss, Jenkins wrote. But, hearing loss affects 45% of people in their 60s, and 2/3 of people in their 70s “have significant hearing loss”, Jenkins added. Hearing loss isn’t limited to seniors. But, the longer someone waits to have it addressed, the more likely it will impact their ability to communicate with others the older they get. “Studies have found that a senior’s untreated hearing loss oftentimes leads to isolation, embarrassment, confusion, and balance”, Cranberry Home Care found. Hearing loss is not limited to being unable to engage in conversation with loved one. Eventually, hearing loss leads to a host of physical and psychological problems that limits a senior’s quality of life for the rest of their life if left untreated.
Challenges Faced by Hearing-Impaired Older Adults
Some of the challenges a hearing-impaired senior faces on a daily basis include, Dewane wrote:
- being unable to hear alarms or the telephone;
- struggling to understand someone while on a phone call;
- “understanding when several people are talking;
- ordering food;
- being aware someone is talking;
- understanding when a speaker’s face is unseen”;
- being unable to understand people in a large room;
- “understanding cashiers or sales clerks;
- understanding unclear or accented speech”.
It is difficult to hear someone in the above situations when ability to hear is normal. But, if a senior is hearing-impaired, it is more difficult for them to participate in day-to-day life. Older adults begin to believe that if they are unable to communicate, they aren’t any good to themselves or anyone else, Dewane noted. Hearing impaired seniors, including those who can read lips, find it difficult to communicate with a person wearing a mask as the coronavirus pandemic continues.
The Impact Hearing Loss Has On A Senior’s Enjoyment of Life
Diabetes and the Older Adult , written in March 2019, is a personal account of how I was diagnosed as a pre-diabetic. In July of 2019, I wrote Are Seniors More Vulnerable to Drug Abuse? The article discusses how seniors are more likely to be prescribed medications for physical pain and depression. Seniors are more likely to get treatment for physical ailments than they are to admit that they can no longer hear like they used to.
Hearing loss has a greater negativity on quality of life than diabetes, obesity, strokes and “even cancer”, Jenkins wrote. If not addressed, hearing loss can negatively influence whether a senior can enjoy life to the fullest. Hearing impaired older adults cannot hear what is said. If they are unable to hear, seniors have to ask someone they’re having a conversation with to repeat themselves. The hearing-impaired senior feels their loved one is shouting at them in order to continue the conversation. Eventually, a relative begins to pull away from a hearing-impaired senior, and is hesitant to communicate with them.
The Stigma of Hearing Loss
There is a stigma attached to hearing loss that continues today. Older adults who refuse to consider wearing a hearing aid are really in denial that they are hearing impaired. My deceased father was unable to hear. My uncle continues to live with hearing loss. They never used a hearing aid nor any other technology to help them improve their hearing. It was hard for them to admit to losing their hearing because of the stigma behind it while they were growing up.
Hearing Loss and Communication
It is difficult to have a conversation with someone who is hearing impaired. Seniors with hearing loss find it hard to admit they are having trouble hearing as they say “what?” more often than not, Cranberry Home Care wrote in their blog in 2018. Older adults who are hearing impaired either deny they have a problem, blame others for talking too softly or mumbling, or say “I only hear what I want to hear”, Cranberry Home Care added. My uncle has said the last statement several times to cover up for being unable to hear.
Hearing Loss and Memory Problems
Seniors who are hearing impaired may also become more forgetful. A study found that seniors who find they are hard of hearing have a “higher likelihood of experiencing memory loss, reduced social activity and higher psychological distress than others…”, Peter Urban wrote in AARP in 2019. Among the 9% of adults 65 and over who reported hearing loss, Urban found these results:
- 37% said they had memory loss;
- 28.9% said they limited outside travel, such as shopping or travelling;
- 39.7% reported depression, anxiety and stress.
The report found that “early identification of and intervention in hearing loss might potentially reduce the risk of these poor health outcomes”, Urban found. Social isolation as a result of hearing loss can be resolved through use of hearing aids and community support, Urban added. Memory loss, loneliness, depression and anxiety can occur as a result of hearing loss. But, hearing loss can be resolved through use of hearing aids and other treatments suggested by audiologists. When hearing loss symptoms are resolved, then the other conditions will also improve.
Hearing Loss and Mental Illness
The Unique Grief of Mental Illness, written in May 2019, outlines some of the problems older adults with a diagnosis of mental health face on a daily basis. Older adult continue to face stigma as a result of both hearing loss and mental illness. A senior suffering from mental illness already faces the stigma that continues. But, when their hearing begins to diminish, they are reluctant to seek medical help because of the stigma behind hearing loss. A senior who suffers from depression and is hearing impaired begins to believe their quality of life is greatly diminished.
Older adults are hesitant to get their hearing checked because they know they will be asked by their health care provider to get a hearing aid. It takes an older adult who suspects they are hearing impaired over 7 to 10 years to get a hearing device, Jenkins found. In addition, only between 20% and 30% of seniors who “could benefit from a hearing solution end up getting one”, Jenkins added.
Why Hearing Loss is Similar to a Death
Hearing impaired seniors go through the same stages of loss written by Elisabeth Kubler-Loss in her book On Death and Dying in 1969, Debbie Clason wrote in Healthy Hearing in October 2020. However, older adults living through hearing loss won’t go through these stages one at a time. Seniors may not experience some stages at all. The experiences seniors will go through as they face losing their hearing include, Clason found:
Stages of Grief and Hearing Loss
- Denial – Hearing loss in seniors occurs gradually. Seniors believe people are mumbling if they can’t hear what is being said.
- Anger – Hearing impaired older adults feel frustrated if they have to see one more doctor or spend money on expensive audio tests and hearing aids. Family members feel angry because they have to constantly ask the senior to turn down the TV.
- Bargaining – Seniors wear hearing protection when using a lawn mower. Hearing impaired older adults face the reality they may never hear normally again.
- Depression – Older adults feel depressed and exhausted when they can no longer participate in conversations with loved ones. Seniors may lose their identity because they can no longer hear as well as they used to. People regardless of age feel sad when they lose something as valuable as hearing.
- Acceptance – Seniors with hearing loss begin to accept their physical limitations and decide to consult with an audiologist who offers them options for regaining their ability to hear. Seniors begin to understand that “hearing aids…have health benefits, such as reduced rates of depression, social isolation and the risk of falls”.
How Can Seniors Preserve Hearing Health
Seniors can ask about what would be best for them once they realize they need to see an audiologist. Many treatment options are available, Clason noted. The option that is best for an individual begins with “a hearing evaluation by a licensed audiologist”, Cranberry Home Care suggested. As seniors discuss options for improved hearing with a medical profession, a loved one can offer moral support. The right option can help a senior adjust to their hearing loss and begin to feel part of life again.
Options for Addressing Hearing Loss
There are several options that a specialist can recommend for a hearing impaired senior, including, Cranberry Home Care found:
- Hearing aids – most commonly used by seniors to improve hearing;
- Other Hearing Technologies – amplified phones and hearing aid compatible cell phones are now available;
- Sign language – used when hearing aids and other technologies to improve hearing are ineffective. A loved one can take a sign language class with the senior, making it possible for the older adult to communicate with the whole family.
Preventing Hearing Loss
Medical professionals recommend the following ways to preserve an older adult’s hearing, depending on the patient’s level of hearing loss, AudioCardio’s blog suggested in 2019.
- “Avoid extended exposure to environmental noise” – Take breaks from situations that can accelerate hearing loss, including concerts, restaurants, and sporting events.
- “Wear earplugs or some sort of hearing protection” – Wear them at the above events and while swimming and any other activity involving water.
- “Listen to music at 60% volume or less” – Setting devices any higher can cause permanent damage. Taking a break every hour is helpful to listen to devices longer.
- Invest in good noise-cancelling headphones” – While it is easy to turn up the volume when the noise gets louder, you also face the risk of going over a safe volume level.
- “Get your hearing checked” – Maintaining hearing health is best for all ages, not just seniors. During regular health check ups, hearing problems can be checked. The medical professional and the senior can discuss next steps to address hearing issues.
- “Make healthy lifestyle changes” – Stress, poor nutrition, smoking, and anxiety have a negative influence on hearing. Regular exercise, eating healthy foods, and avoiding and/or reducing smoking can reduce impaired hearing.
From AudioCardio’s Website FAQ
What is AudioCardio?
“AudioCardio is a mobile app that is designed to protect and strengthen your hear by listening to a personalized and inaudible (or barely audible) sound therapy. The AudioCardio app allows you to assess your hearing and generate a personalized sound therapy known as Threshold Sound Conditioning.”
What Does the Assessment Do?
“AudioCardio measures your threshold of sound based on the devices being used (earbuds/headphones) to deliver a custom sound therapy and sound experience. The assessment acts like a calibration for your personalized sound therapy.”
What Does the Hearing Score Represent?
“The score represents great to below average hearing. The higher your score, the better (0-10 scale)”. I have been averaging 2.0 when I take it to the highest threshold of 84 dB. When I began using it in the lowest threshold, I could barely hear it. But again, you can customize for your own personalized sound therapy. A great thing about AudioCardio is it lets you know if the sound level is so high that it can affect your hearing.
What If Someone Has Tinnitus?
If someone has tinnitus, AudioCardio can be used. “However, tinnitus affects everyone differently. Make sure the sound therapy is comfortable for your unique condition”.
What if a Senior Uses Hearing Aids?
If a senior wears hearing aids, AudioCardio can be used. “However, always be sure that you use the EXACT SAME settings for your assessments and sound therapy. If you decide to switch to headphones or earbuds, you’ll need to retake the assessment again so that the app can calibrate to those earbuds or headphones”.
Personal Experience Using AudioCardio
This writer believes that AudioCardio is an excellent alternative to hearing aids. It is easy to use. The user can do their regular activities while using the app. The app lets the user know when their 30 minute therapy began, when they are 30 minutes into the therapy and when therapy is complete. It is easier to consider seeing an audiologist when you realize your hearing is not as it should be.
Caveats To Using AudioCardio
A promo code, ACLTGA30, can be used for a period of 30 days. If interested in continuing to use AudioCardio, a small fee per month will be charged. It is easy to discontinue billing if you use it and decide it is not for you.
Further Information
For more information on the challenges of hearing loss and how it affects day to day living, Frustrated by Hearing Loss? Five Keys to Communication Success
