Elder Home Care in Roseville CA
Hearing loss is a common occurrence among older adults. The best defense against hearing loss is regular hearing screenings from an audiologist. However, knowing the signs of hearing loss early on can also help prevent any further damage to your loved ones hearing ability.
If your loved one does have noticeable hearing loss, it could drastically change how they complete tasks, run errands, or communicate with others. An elderly care provider can help the elder with tasks and social events that may have become more difficult for them since they began having trouble with their hearing.
Causes of Hearing Loss
Hearing impairments do not only happen as we get older. Sometimes it is the things in our environment that are the problem. Here are a few reasons your aging parent may be suffering from hearing loss.
- Exposure to loud noise
- Frequent ear infections, trauma or an ear disease
- Certain medications or health problems
- Getting older
- Harm to the inner and outer ear from foreign objects, like cotton swabs and fingers
Prevention
If hearing loss is a concern for your parent, there are several ways this impairment can be prevented. Below are just a few ways you or an elder care provider can help the senior reduce their chances of losing their ability to hear.
- Keep foreign objects out of the ear. For years, we were told that cotton swabs are needed to help clean our ears. The problem with these items is the fact that most people are not cleaning just the outer part of the ear. They continuously push the object further in the ear, causing irreversible damage. Cotton swabs, fingers, hairpins, and other objects should stay out of their ears at all times.
- Protect the ears. Whether the elder is going to a concert, is surrounded by loud machines, or other items that make an excessive amount of noise, it is important that your loved one protect their ears. Earplugs can easily be placed in the ear without being easily noticed by other people. Earmuffs and custom hearing protection devices can also be used to keep the loud noises away from the elder’s eardrums.
- Keep noises down. When at home or in the car, make sure your loved one keeps the noise levels on their TV, radio, and other devices down. Frequently turning the volume too high can cause extreme hearing loss over time.
Hearing loss is not always easy to detect, so encourage the senior to regularly get their hearing checked by an audiologist.