Posts in the ‘Hearing Loss’ Category

Aiding Your Search for the Perfect Hearing Aid

Posted on: May 28th, 2012 by anitf

Choosing to purchase a hearing aid is an important decision for your health and well being. And, because the cost of today’s advanced hearing aids ranges from $1,500 to $3,500, purchasing one is not an everyday, run down to the store kind of errand. Ask yourself and the retailer the following questions to make an informed purchase:

  • What features will be most useful to me? Hearing aids have different functionalities and some are worn differently – over the ear, in the ear, etc. Determine what features make the most sense for you and what you can do without.
  • What is the total cost of the hearing aid? Make sure you can afford the hearing aid you want or have a payment plan in place.
  • What kind of warranties come with the hearing aid? Does the warranty cover future maintenance and repair?
  • Does the retailer or manufacturer provide loaner aids if the hearing aid needs to be repaired?
  • What kind of assistive devices can be used with this hearing aid?

For more information about shopping for hearing devices or for assistance with making life more comfortable at home, contact the home care professionals at A Nurse in the Family in Santa Fe at 505-954-1435.

Devices for Additional Hearing Loss Support

Posted on: May 18th, 2012 by anitf

Using the latest technology, today’s hearing aids are remarkable. In fact, modern hearing aids can be programmed to respond to each person’s unique hearing loss, have the capability to be synced with Bluetooth phones and TVs, and some are no larger than a dime!

Hearing aids can usually compensate for the majority of hearing loss; however, some hearing aid users continue to have difficulty understanding speech in noisy areas or may not be able to hear things like smoke alarms when they have their hearing aid out at night. For these instances, there are a number of hearing loss support devices to ensure that people with decreased hearing don’t miss a thing.

Alerting Devices: Alerting devices are available for everything from smoke detectors to doorbells. For example, a doorbell alerting device would flash a light when someone rings the door bell or knocks. Alarm clock alerting devices come in versions that have adjustable volumes and pitches, flash lights, or vibrate to help wake the person up.

Assistive Listening Devices: Assistive listening devices are tools that help a person with diminished hearing hear things like the TV or speech over the telephone better. Specifically, voice carryovers (or VCOs) help those who cannot hear speech over the telephone. VCOs allow you to speak directly to the other party while an operator translates what the other party says to you in print displayed on a small LCD screen.

Those who have trouble hearing the television may want to consider headphones or wireless transmitters to help hearing—even when sitting across the room.

Below are a few online stores that sell hearing loss support devices:

If you or your loved ones need assistance with hearing loss or in-home care, contact A Nurse in the Family of Santa Fe at 505-954-1435. We look forward to getting to know you!

 

Don’t Let Hearing Loss Interrupt Your Relationships!

Posted on: May 11th, 2012 by anitf

For people with low hearing, communicating with fast talkers and mumblers—or with distracting background noise—is pretty tough and can cause someone to be left out of the conversation entirely. Have you been in this situation? If so, you’re not alone. Millions of Americans have undiagnosed hearing loss.

Don’t let your hearing interrupt your relationships. Here are a few strategies to help you “stay in the conversation”:

  • If you have a hearing aid, make sure it is working properly
  • Tell the people you are with that you have hearing loss
  • Sit or stand where you can see the faces of all speakers
  • Move away from noise or other background disturbances
  • Ask people to repeat themselves when necessary or repeat back the part of the message that you understood with a request for the speaker to repeat the part that you didn’t hear
  • Use what you know about the speaker to help clue you in on what is going on in the conversation, including the speaker’s interests or habits
  • Stay informed about current events
  • Make sure you are well-rested before attending an event where you will be listening to a lot of speech

Often, people see their hearing loss as an embarrassment and fail to speak up to ensure that they are included in conversations. Don’t be left out. Contact A Nurse in the Family of Santa Fe at 505-954-1435 for more tips on living with hearing loss and for exceptional RN managed care at home.

Five Tips for Communicating with Someone with Hearing Loss

Posted on: May 4th, 2012 by anitf

Caring for an aging loved one revolves around communication and keeping the individual socially engaged. And, most seniors don’t want to miss a thing! However, hearing loss is a common problem among older adults that makes conversation and communication difficult. In fact, hearing loss affects 26.7 million Americans 50 and older, including four out of five people above age 80.

Hearing loss is a common part of aging, and will likely affect your elderly friends and family members at some point. Here are a few tips to help you communicate better with seniors who are experiencing hearing loss:

Make sure you have the attention of the person before speaking, and always face the individual

  • Speak up, clearly and naturally
  • Do not shout, overemphasize your words, or talk in slow motion
  • Turn off televisions or radios to cut down on background noise
  • If you are giving important information, like directions or instructions, write it down

For further tips on communicating with someone with hearing loss, please give us a call at 505-954-1435.

At A Nurse in the Family of Santa Fe, our compassionate caregivers are skilled in helping seniors with many aging issues and all care is supervised by a nurse. Contact us to find out more about our in-home care offerings and learn if home care is a good fit for your situation.

 
Call us at (505)-954-1435 or send us a request by email...
click to get started »