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Urinary Incontinence |
Hearing Impairment
Ageing is associated with the degeneration of our sensory organs of which one of these is our hearing organ, the ear. However, for an elderly person with hearing impairment, the most important thing to do is not to simply attribute the hearing impairment to ageing without first looking out for treatable causes which include the following: 1. Impacted earwax 2. Infection of the ear canal 3. Perforation of the ear drum 4. Foreign bodies in the ear canal 5. Tumour of the ear 6. Accumulation of fluid in the inner ear which may be due to disease elsewhere like throat tumour 7. Adverse effects of certain medications Bring the elderly person to see a doctor to exclude treatable conditions if the cause is not known. Referral to the ear, nose and throat specialist may be necessary if more sophisticated investigations are required or specialist management is needed for certain conditions. After excluding the treatable causes, consider the use of hearing aids to help in communication if this is of benefit. Referral to the audiologist for hearing assessment and prescription of a suitable hearing device would be needed. A trial of the hearing aid would then be carried out. Last but not least, the technique of effective communication is important. This consists of the following: 1. Removal of distracting background noises 2. Attracting the person's attention before speaking 3. Ensuring that the hearing aid if present, is used properly prior to the conversation 4. Speaking slowly, clearly in the language that the person is familiar with and using short phrases instead of long and complicated sentences 5. Maintaining eye contact with the person so that one is quickly aware if the person is losing attention or having difficulty understanding what have been said 6. Shortening the distance with the person when speaking 7. Rephrasing of words if the person does not understand 8. Use of visual cues to help to bring the message across to the person 9.
Avoid showing frustration in front of the person as this will have
a negative effect on the person and make communication even more
difficult. |
