Turkey Days and Hearing Problems

While I have written on this subject before it is worth discussing again. So what is the correlation with turkeys and hearing problems? Well specifically at this time of year our neighbours  to the south (neighbors for them) celebrate Thanksgiving sometimes referred to as Turkey day, a day in which families get together to watch football share time together and have a meal built around the thanksgiving turkey. We as Canadians but earlier in the year.  This is a time in which we spend a fair amount of time functioning in a group setting. This is a time of conversation sometimes random or at least with rather varied  subject matter. If your family is anything like my family several conversations can be taking place at the same time around the dinner table and they can be just about anything. While this is what we call relaxing it can actually be a fairly frenetic time of conversation. As one turkey day ends it is only a few weeks away from another turkey day, Christmas. Especially this year with American Thanksgiving only a month away from Christmas, four weeks, it is going to be like the party doesn't stop. There are going to be family get togethers, parties with friends , office parties, church events and many more opportunities for times of heightened social interaction. While this time of year can be nightmarish for natural introverts it can also be a very difficult time for those that have become introverts due to their hearing loss and the complexity it brings to communication.
Those with hearing loss we know have extreme difficulty functioning in background noise. The noise of multiple talkers makes it difficult to impossible for the hearing impaired to understand speech effectively. Things may indeed be loud enough but not clear enough. This a common difficulty for the hearing impaired and often one of the early signs of hearing impairment. In a background of noise we find ourselves using our eyes more and more, watching peoples faces to help ourselves to understand what is being said.
For the hearing impaired the holiday season spanning from one day of turkey eating to another can be frustrating , challenging , daunting and exhausting given the difficulty presented by the communication environment. It can be so difficult at times to communicate that the hearing impaired individual chooses to avoid what would have otherwise been a time that would have been a highlight of the year.
For those family members, friends, co-workers, and acquaintances that are spending time with the hearing impaired during the holiday season being aware and considerate of the difficulty that is faced would be so appreciated by the hearing impaired individual. When we are aware of someones difficulty and it matters to us we are then able to do some things to make communication easier and more enjoyable for someone that otherwise will be left out feeling disconnected.
So what do we do? We can reduce the background noise. We may have the football game on at Thanksgiving as a family tradition but perhaps we can have it on with the volume turned down or off especially if we are having other conversations going on at the same time. We can make an effort to confirm engagement by addressing and including the hearing impaired individual and verifying that they are included and following the conversation with subtle questions that allow you to actively fill in the missing parts. The best strategy however is to schedule some one on one time with those you care about that have a hearing loss. Spending some one on one time in a quiet environment with the hearing impaired individual will allow them optimum functionality and allow for a much more enjoyable experience. The reality is that hearing impaired or not, just taking the time to spend some quality one on one time with those that matter is time well spent.
So this Turkey season think about whats important and who is important. Give the gift of your time to those that matter.

25th Anniversary For The Ear Company

25 years. Wow! When I was young I used to think that 25 years would be an eternity but that eternity seems to have blasted by at warp speed. It was 25 years ago this month that Peterborough Audiology Inc. came into existence. When I was in graduate school I used to envision what I thought my professional career would be like. I thought that what I wanted as a professional was primarily linked to monetary gain. As a young man in school I don’t think I really understood the effect my personal impact in my profession could have and how important it could be. I always envisioned private practice but really didn’t know what that would be like and how to go about doing it right. When I sit with Mary Girard my office manager from the start and reminisce about those early days it is hard to imagine that we actually survived. This month as I look back on the last 25 years I feel so blessed. I feel honoured to have encountered so many wonderful people along the way, I feel humbled by the way peoples lives have been changed because of the function of our clinic. I have learned that I love the people I get to meet and want to get to know them and be personally involved in their hearing health. I have learned that I don’t prefer administration. I have learned that excellence in one location for me is preferable to owning and operating a chain of clinics from behind an office desk. The fact that my clinic is in a place like Peterborough is also an unforeseen benefit. This town is a large small town where we want to know each other and are willing to take the time to do so. This has been a town where my clinic isn’t just a business but is a part of a community. 25 years and enough mistakes made to have a good idea of the better way to do things. When I consider what I reflect on when thinking back on these 25 years it is the many individuals, characters and their stories and experiences that I cling to. My life is enriched because of these people. 25 year of amazing people is something worth celebrating. I look back and smile at the experiences and interactions but also feel sadness for those that have passed away. With all the ups and downs what a wonderful 25 years it has been for “Peterborough Audiology”, “The Ear Company”. I love that along with my staff we can be proud of what we are what we have done and what we continue to do.

Hearing Loss and End of Life

The ability to hear is always important but perhaps takes on added importance in those last days of life. As audiologists, we are often asked to help our patients hear better during those last days by assuring that their hearing aids are adequate and functional, as well as we are sometimes asked to provide personal listening devices.

There is the suggestion that hearing is the last sense to go before death and there is growing evidence of this possibility. In the article “Signs of Death” written by William Lamers M.D. for the Hospice Foundation of America he states that, “Caregivers, family, and physicians should always act as if the dying person is aware of what is going on and is able to hear and understand voices. In fact, hearing is one of the last senses to lapse before death.” 

“The Institute of Medicine (IOM) released Dying in America, a major consensus report on improving the quality and availability of services for people nearing the end of their lives. Core components of quality end-of-life care included:

• Frequent assessment of the patient's physical, emotional, social, and spiritual well-being.
• Management of emotional distress.
• Counseling of patient and family.
• Attention to the patient's social and cultural context and social needs.
• Attention to the patient's spiritual and religious needs.

These all require communication with the patient which is seriously affected by the reality that in North America one in three people over 65 are hearing impaired. “

References:

(bit.ly/IOM-Dying http://bit.ly/IOM-Dying)

The Hearing Journal: January 2015 - Volume 68 - Issue 1 - p 18,19,22

doi: 10.1097/01.HJ.0000459739.71381.16

Cover Story

https://hospicefoundation.org/Hospice-Care/Signs-of-Approaching-Death