How to Teach the Elderly to Use Hearing Aids
Often elderly people have trouble adapting to new ideas and new ways of doing things. While the elderly may be anxious to hear more clearly, it takes patience and empathy to teach the elderly to use hearing aids. There are a number of other issues, including mental and physical dexterity, that also must be taken into consideration when providing hearing aid training to older adults.
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Instructions
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Review the results of a physical exam of the person before instruction on the use of hearing aids is introduced to an elderly patient. Issues such as memory, possible dementia and physical limitation may preclude certain necessary operations needed to use the aids. For example, older people may not be able to easily reach up to their ears to put on the hardware or may have difficulty adjusting the volume. They may repeatedly forget instructions.
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Look for a hearing aid that has built-in volume control levels that adjust automatically if the older person has trouble manipulating the controls. Brands such as the Freedom Series or the Siemens Centra have incorporated technical advancements in hearing aid equipment for this population. While the price may be higher than those of manual hearing aids, it may be worth it if the elderly person refuses to use the hearing aids she cannot operate properly.
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Educate the patient on the workings of the ear and what parts of the auditory canal have been damaged or worn out. Use charts and models of the ear and the ear canal to instruct the users in how the hearing aids operate. With greater understanding of the process and how it works, elderly people may trust the equipment and be more willing to try it out.
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Use a plastic model of the ear for practice. Supply the elderly person with a hearing aid and let him practice putting it on the model. By removing any fear of pain or discomfort, the person can become accustomed to handling the equipment and visually understand how it attaches to the ear and how it should look when properly inserted.
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Tips & Warnings
When the elderly patient first begins to use the hearing, take him into alternate environments that are noisy and quiet to instruct him how to adjust the controls if appropriate or to allow him to experience the changes the equipment will make automatically. By knowing what to expect while in training, elderly patients won't be surprised when exposed to different sound levels.
Learning to use a hearing aid is a process and not always accepted in one training session. Practice patience, knowing that the elderly may take a little longer to get accustomed to the foreign device.
