VA Home Care – Increased Volume from Hearing Aids Doesn’t Equal Improved Clarity
Hearing loss can have a direct impact for any senior who requires some type of assistance at home. For veterans who require home care, it can have a direct effect on the quality of care they receive as well as their ability to remain safe within the comfort of their own home.
The most significant risk factors associated with hearing loss.
When an elderly veteran requires a caregiver, for whatever purpose, there may be certain instructions that this particular caregiver needs to share with them about safety, things they’re doing, or things to try. If the senior doesn’t hear the instructions clearly, he or she may make mistakes, not avoid certain areas that are potentially dangerous, or put themselves and others at risk.
Some seniors may disguise their hearing loss out of a sense of concern regarding their own health and well-being. Somebody who has been dealing with a number of physical health challenges in recent years may be tired of doctors, probes, tests, scans, and much more. They may just want a break from it all and therefore just deal with the fact that they can’t hear as clearly as they used to and try to disguise it.
Other seniors may have hearing aids that aren’t especially effective at improving clarity. It can increase the volume of sound they hear around them, but for some it may feel as though they are placing a cup over each ear. If you want to fully understand what it’s like to experience hearing loss, try this at home. Either use over-the-ear headphones or plastic cups. Keep them tight to your ears, using your hands to cover them as much as possible. Then walk around the house when other people are trying to talk to you.
Even though you can hear sound and you can hear the words, it may be a challenge to hear the clarity and distinction of those words. You may need to ask that other person to repeat themselves several times before you fully understand what they’re trying to tell you.
This could be the same for the veteran who requires care. If that’s the case, it’s best for the elderly veteran to be paying attention, to shut out all other noise and audible distractions, and also to ensure they heard what the caregiver is saying clearly. They should repeat the instructions as well as possible.
Without clarity and complete understanding, the elderly veteran could place themselves and others at risk.
For more information and to learn about VA home care, contact Veteran’s Home Care at (888) 314-6075.
