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As your parents age, the nerves that transmit sound waves to the brain in the inner ear or cochlea wear out gradually. It gets to a point where normal pitch sounds become muffled, and they cannot determine what’s happening around them. Sadly, many parents will be in denial and claim they don’t need hearing aids – so how can you persuade them that they need hearing aids?
You can convince a parent that they need hearing aids by educating them about the signs and symptoms that warrant using hearing aids. Having this knowledge will help them identify the hearing loss signs they’re experiencing. Next, you can explain the hearing aid options they have.
Having a hearing aid conversation with your parent can be daunting. To make it easy, the rest of this article discusses 11 tactics you can use to convince your parent that they need hearing aids. Let’s dive in.
1. Educate Them About Old Age Hearing Impairment Signs and Symptoms
Awareness of the signs and symptoms of a health condition makes someone willing to go for a medical checkup and treatment to avoid the disease progressing to untreatable stages.
But hearing loss is not like other diseases. Usually, no pain is involved, which may make your parent reluctant to accept that they need hearing help.
Therefore, it’s up to you to do research backed by medical facts to bring to their attention the hearing loss signs they are showing. Some of the hearing impairment symptoms you should mention in your conversation include the following:
- Inability to hear high-pitched sounds: When children and women talk, generally, the elderly will feel like they are mumbling and regularly complain that they should speak audibly.
- Difficulty processing sounds in noisy backgrounds: The elderly cannot converse when other people are talking or when the TV or radio is on.
- Difficulty understanding sounds: Sometimes, seniors may hear you speak and lean toward you but not respond until you repeat your statement.
- Tinnitus: It is a common problem affecting 15% to 20% of older adults. It is a ringing sound that others can hear in one or both ears.
- Withdrawal: The inability to hear well makes conversations difficult, and in most cases, the elderly will isolate themselves and avoid talking.
After explaining the above signs, you should also educate them about the adverse effects linked to hearing loss, including:
- Brain atrophy: A recent study from Johns Hopkins showed that hearing loss causes the wasting away of the brain. It also makes the brain work hard to process information which can cause mental exhaustion.
- Loss of balance: Hearing loss mutes subtle cues that the ears pick up to help you balance. As a result, your parent may strain while walking or suffer from frequent falls that could lead to severe injuries.
- A decline in cognitive ability: The inability of the brain to process information faster leads to slow thinking and failure to remember information.
2. Explain How Hearing Loss Is Affecting Others
When your parent is in denial or reluctant to use hearing aids, they may have no idea how their condition affects family members and friends.
First, every relationship survives on communication. Cracks begin to form in relationships when your parent mishears and misunderstands what other people say. This leads to the following:
- Frustration: Speaking to your parent becomes tiring because you have to speak loudly and sometimes repeat several times. Sometimes you may dismiss an important conversation because they cannot understand you.
- Decrease in communication: If it has been a norm to have long conversations with your parent, it’ll be humiliating to talk less to them to avoid misunderstandings.
- Stress and worry for your parent’s safety: Hearing impairment elevates memory loss and balance, compromising your parent’s safety. This keeps you anxious, wondering if they are okay.
Having this conversation empathetically and in a non-manipulative way may help them reconsider their choices for the sake of loved ones.
3. Inform Them That a Hearing Problem Is a Common Problem in Old Age
Your parent may be reluctant to use hearing aids because they think hearing loss is an abnormal condition. They may feel frustrated and embarrassed and perceive it as a sign of disability.
You should change their thoughts by informing them that one in three people aged 65 to 74 has hearing loss. Also, you should mention celebrities who have publicly confessed their hearing loss, such as Eric Clapton, Bill Clinton, and Pete Townshend.
The common types of hearing loss prevalent in old age include:
- Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss (SSHL): This is a severe condition resulting from damage to the inner ear’s sensory nerves. Though it is treatable, it causes gradual hearing loss in about 15 people suffering from it.
- Conductive hearing loss: It results from having a hole in the eardrum or blocking of the ear canal. As a result, sound transmission in the outer and middle ear becomes impaired.
- Mixed hearing loss: It features signs of SSHL and conductive hearing loss. It results from the wearing away of auditory nerves in the cochlea and the inability to transmit sounds in the ear.
4. Tell Your Parent About the Benefits of Hearing Aids
Your parent may refuse to use hearing aids if they do not understand how they work. Explaining how hearing aids make their lives easier could help them change their minds. You can tell them of the following benefits of using hearing aids:
- Reduced risk of cognitive decline: Hearing aids prevent degrading the brain components that recognize sound and speech. It reduces the risk of early onset of dementia and other conditions associated with brain damage.
- More independence: Hearing loss makes one rely on others to do personal activities and go places. But with hearing aids, your parent can operate normally and engage in activities they enjoy.
- Healthy relationships: Hearing aids eliminate communication barriers and misunderstandings that result from hearing loss. It makes socializing easier, which also boosts mental well-being.
- Minimal mental exhaustion: With hearing aids, the brain will not strain so much to pick up sounds. It will be easier to differentiate between important and non-important information.
5. Address the Stigma Associated With Hearing Aids
Although the prevalence of hearing loss is high in adults aged 65 and above, a survey shows that 34% are ashamed of wearing hearing aids. They have a perceived fear that wearing hearing aids will make other people treat them differently.
Before addressing your parent’s stigma, you need to evaluate if it is internal or external.
- Internal stigma: This is an internalized shame about hearing loss. It may make someone anxious and fearful of losing their normal existence.
- External stigma: It is the gestural and verbal reactions that other people give towards a person wearing hearing aids.
For internal stigma, you’ll have to navigate your parent’s fears with them. Allow them to express their feelings about hearing loss and hearing aids. Show them that you understand their situation and respond gracefully to correct their biased narrative.
If the stigma is external, assure your parent that they can wear hearing aids that are not visible to other people. Technology has led to the invention of hearing aids with discreet designs that fit in the ear canal. This way, nobody can tell they are wearing hearing aids or treat them differently.
6. Give Them Room To Process Their Condition
Everyone reacts differently to information. Losing hearing ability can cause emotional distress, clouding your parent’s judgment. Instead of pushing them to make a rash decision about getting hearing aids, you should give them time to grieve and accept the situation.
This will help you avoid confrontation and arguments, which may make them more depressed. As you give them space to make their decision, you should encourage them to:
- Do their favorite activity: Engaging in the activity they love will reduce the chances of anxiety and depression. It also helps them appreciate that they can still enjoy life despite having hearing loss.
- Express their feeling: When going through a difficult period, having someone listen to your thoughts makes you feel supported.
- Ask questions: Getting clarification about their condition and the options they have will help them make an informed decision.
7. Volunteer To Visit an Audiologist With Your Parent
Hospital visits can be exhausting. And for a person with hearing loss, it can be more frustrating and make them unwilling to go through the process alone. Accompanying your parent to the hospital makes them feel more secure and supported. You’ll also be better positioned to explain their condition to the healthcare provider on their behalf.
After the test, the doctor can explain the cause of the hearing loss and give you the remedy options. If your parent is alone, they may shy away from exploring the pros and cons of each recommendation and settle for any option. This makes them prone to exploitation.
I have an article highlighting things you can do to get your elderly parents to get along with you. You can also try the tips and tricks discussed there to convince your parent for that trip to the audiologist. What to Do When Elderly Parents Don’t Get Along
8. Take the Audiology Test Together
Hearing loss is not only common in old age. Factors such as loud noise in the workplace or heredity can cause hearing loss at any age. As a result, audiologists recommend having your hearing assessed once per year. You can encourage your parent to take the audiology test by doing it as a family.
The test results will help clear their doubts if they are in denial. You can ask the audiologist to explain what normal hearing test results look like and compare your parents to yours. This provides solid proof that they need hearing aids.
9. Cover the Hearing Aids Costs
Parents without insurance may use cost as an excuse for not wearing hearing aids. On average, hearing aids cost between $1,000 and $4,000, which may cause them to outlive their retirement savings. They may also be unwilling to burden you with the cost.
The best gesture would be to prove they are not a liability by volunteering to cover the total cost. If the price is too much for you, you can look for stores that offer an installment payment plan. But keep the payment arrangement discreet from your parent.
10. Give Them a Trial Run
If your parent doesn’t believe hearing aids will give them a normal hearing experience, you can propose a trial run. This arrangement allows you to pay the total cost of hearing aids to try them for a predetermined period. If you don’t find them helpful, you can return them to the vendor and get part or all your money back, depending on the condition of the hearing aids.
Giving your parent this option allows them to test if hearing aids will make their life easier. Because of the high effectiveness of hearing aids, they might not want to live without them after the trial run.
11. Be Empathetic About Their Condition
Practicing empathy with your parents when going through hearing loss provides them with a safe place to process their emotions. It also makes them more willing to listen to your advice. You can practice empathy by:
- Being non-reactive during negative interactions.
- Staying attuned to who your parents are and acting cautiously to not offend them through words or actions.
- Being present and staying connected helps them overcome negative emotions attached to hearing loss.
I have a detailed article talking about why elderly parents can sometimes become annoying to deal with and how it isn’t their fault but a consequence of old age. I’ve highlighted a few ways you can help your parents during this time, and help them make decisions and take actions that are in their best interest. Why Do Your Elderly Parents Annoy You? 4 Reasons
Best Hearing Aids
If your parent finally accepts to use hearing aids, you can consider the following options (all available on Amazon.com):
Earrck Rechargeable Hearing Aids for Seniors
This hearing aid’s large size and light weight make it suitable for seniors. It has a chip that blocks background noises to help your parent focus on one sound. The best part is you can control sound levels through buttons, making it easy for your senior to adjust the volume. Its rechargeable battery lasts for more than 35 hours.
iBstone Rechargeable Hearing Aid
If your parent prefers tiny hearing aids, the iBstone Rechargeable Hearing Aid is the best option. It has a fingertip size that fits perfectly in the ear and is almost invisible in beige color backgrounds. Its high volume range makes it easy to hear low-pitch sounds.
Final Thoughts
If your parents are in denial that they need to use hearing aids, the approach you use to convince them matters. Follow the tips in this post, choose an appropriate time when they are not stressed, and be mindful about your choice of words. After discussing the issue, you should give them room to process the information and follow up after a few days.
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