Download perspective-on-ageing-people-wth-sensory

A Perspective on Ageing People
with Sensory Disabilities
Jeign Craig
Vice President HIPEN
Hearing Loss
• Hearing loss affects more than 10 million people in the UK ( 1 in 6
of the population)
• The most common type of hearing loss is called ‘presbyacusis’ or
‘age-related hearing loss’.
(70% of people aged over 70
more than 90% of people aged over 80 have a hearing loss. )
• Many people living in sheltered housing, residential and nursing
homes for older people will have a hearing loss.
They may not have recognised it or sought help.
It is vital that these people are supported to manage their hearing
loss and minimise the impact on their quality of life.
Care Providers
Staff in the care homes should be trained,
so they can:
1 Intervene early in hearing loss.
2 Meet communication needs.
3 Improve hearing aid use and management.
Hearing loss
•
•
•
•
•
Hearing loss is usually described in terms of severity:
mild
moderate
severe
profound
• mild hearing loss will mean some difficulty following
speech, especially in noisy environments.
They may wear hearing aids – if their hearing loss has
been diagnosed – and find lipreading useful.
They will nearly always use speech to communicate.
• moderate hearing loss means the person will
find it difficult to follow speech, especially in
noisy environments.
They will probably wear hearing aids and/or
lipread
• severe hearing loss means the person may
have difficulty following speech, even with
hearing aids.
They may lipread and/or use British Sign
Language (BSL) and communication support
• profound hearing loss means a person may
use BSL as their first or preferred language.
People who use BSL often consider
themselves to be part of the Deaf
community.
• 23,000 people in the UK are deafblind –
they have a combined hearing and sight loss.
Many people who are deafblind have some
hearing and vision.
Others will be totally deaf and/or totally
blind.
The Impact of Hearing loss
If people are not supported to manage their hearing loss effectively,
it can lead to:
• communication difficulties
• social isolation
• anger and frustration
• low confidence, especially in social settings
• depression
• stress and anxiety.
For many people with age-related hearing loss their life will lead to
a life without active participation.
Others may want help but may not be sure of what they can do.
Dementia
• Recent research has shown that there is a link
between hearing loss and dementia.
• People with mild hearing loss have nearly
twice the chance of developing dementia.
• The risk increases – three times for people
with moderate hearing loss,
and five times for people with severe hearing
loss.
Hearing and sight loss
As people get older, their sight, as well as their hearing, begins to worsen.
People with a combined hearing and sight loss will find:
• Communicating effectively will be very challenging
• Problems with reading
• Problems getting around
• Problems carrying out simple tasks without help
• they may not answer questions appropriately – this can be misinterpreted
as an early sign of dementia
Older people with hearing and sight loss may easily become withdrawn and
depressed.
Their isolation may have a negative effect on their relationships with family and
friends.
Communication - lipreading
• Find a suitable environment with good lighting, away
from noise and distractions
• Sit or stand at the same level about 1m away from the
lipreader
• Face the light, or your face will be in shadow
• Make sure the lipreader is looking at you before you
speak
• Introduce the topic of conversation
• Speak clearly at a moderate pace, without raising your
voice
• Use natural body language.
• Keep your face visible.
• Check that the lipreader is following you.
• Be patient and take time to communicate.
Communication – Write key words
• If you can’t make yourself understood, write
down key words (not everything) and then
continue the conversation.
• If the person has sight problems, use a thicker
pen or a different colour pen or paper, and make
your writing bigger. Work together to find out
what will help the most.
• Don’t use CAPITAL LETTERS. It’s the written
equivalent of shouting and doesn’t actually make
things clearer.
Communication – body language
• Point to objects, pictures or people that you are
talking about.
• Use facial expressions to show how you feel.
• Use objects to represent people, things or
activities.
Put the object in the person’s hand so they can
feel or smell it.
This is often a good method for communicating with deafblind
people, or people with learning disabilities or dementia. [e.g.
you could put a cup in their hand for “Would you like some
tea?”]
Communication – professional support
•
•
•
•
Sign language interpreters
Lipspeakers
Notetakers
Speech-to-text reporters
also
(although mainly used in educational environments)
• Communication Support Workers
• Cued Speech Transliterators
Communication - the environment
• Flooring - carpet helps to absorb noise.
• Soft furnishings help to reduce sound
reverberation and echo.
• Walls and curtains - busy or bold patterns on
can be distracting.
• Good lighting - without any glare or shadows.
• Thick tablecloths reduce the noise of cutlery
and crockery.
• Round dining tables - so everyone can see
each other.
Recognising the signs of age-related hearing loss
A person who is losing their hearing will:
• complain about others mumbling
• need to have things repeated several times
• complain that they cannot hear as well as they
used to
• will not react to you
• struggle to hear on the telephone
• have the TV or radio very loud
• cannot follow conversation in noisy places.
• change in behaviour - be more withdrawn or stop
taking part in conversation and activities.
Hearing aids
• Many people with hearing loss find hearing
aids very helpful.
It can take some time for people to adjust to
their hearing aids and it’s important that they
get support.
• Digital hearing aids (UK provide these free on NHS,
they can also be bought privately.) Digital means
that the audiologist can fine-tune them to
match a person’s hearing loss and needs.
Behind-the-ear (BTE) hearing aid
In-the-ear (ITE) hearing aid
Body worn hearing aid
Managing a hearing aid
• Daily check to see if it is working
• Adjusting the settings
• Cleaning the earmould and tube
• Re-tubing
• Changing the batteries
All of the above may be difficult for elderly people
(using fine manual skills/ understanding)
Aids to hearing
• telephones fitted with a hearing loop or are specially designed
for people with hearing loss
• textphones
• a hearing loop or infrared system for the TV, radio, music
system
• flashing smoke alarms
• accessible entry systems (vibrating or flashing doorbell)
• good lighting in all areas
• TV with digital subtitles
• quiet environment (minimise background noise)
• seating arrangement that is helpful for communication
UK organisations
• Age UK
www.ageuk.org.uk
• Action on Hearing Loss
www.actiononhearlingloss.org.uk
• Association of Teachers of Lipreading to Adults
(ATLA)
www.lipreading.org.uk
• British Deaf Association (BDA)
www.bda.org.uk
• British Tinnitus Association (BTA)
www.tinnitus.org.uk
• Hearing Link
www.hearinglink.org
• Hearing Dogs for Deaf People
www.hearing-dogs.org.uk
• Deafblind UK
www.deafblind.org.uk
• National Association for Deafened People (NADP)
www.nadp.org.uk
• Sign Health
www.signhealth.org.uk
• Text Relay
www.textrelay.org.uk
• RNIB
www.rnib.org.uk
• Sense
www.sense.org.uk
• Signature
www.signature.org.uk
Key points – a summary
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Age of onset of deafness
Type of deafness
Other disabilities
Communication needs
Worsening sight, mobility etc
Other health issues
Varying situations – home, care home,
hospital
• Achieving Independence – support needed
How can we help?
• Give information of what is available to people
suffering from hearing loss
• Give information of what is available to people
caring for elderly people
• Give training to people who have a hearing loss
• Give training for people who are caring for elderly
people with a hearing loss – ProDeafToolKit