Hearing Test

[SMBeach]

Hello. Dad’s care home arranged for him to have a hearing test done at my request. He had wax removed and the test revealed he has moderate to severe hearing loss. I expect it’s closer to moderate as he can hear us talking perfectly fine. I’m just waiting for the audiologist to tell me the actual results in decibels.

What I wanted to ask is have any of you had a loved one with dementia wear hearing aids for the first time?

Dad has never had a problem with his hearing that I’ve noticed but I wanted it checked as I’m not sure he’s hearing his phone ring when I call. He has never worn hearing aids and I know they can take a bit of getting used to. My concern is that it may not be a good move on my part to arrange for him to wear hearing aids due to dementia causing him more distress using and adjusting something like a hearing aid.

For those of you who have had hearing aids used for the first time on dementia relative - was it successful?

 

[Newbie 3]

Hi SMBeach, both my parents wear hearing aids. Mum recently and with alzheimers. We have been told if not wearing them will make the dementia much worse, I would strongly suggest having a test and wearing them if necessary as much as possible. Mum's don't need any adjustments they are set at the hospital and just require batteries changing as an when

 

[Sarasa]

Hi @SMBeach i have severe hearing loss and am totally lost without my aids. I agree being able to hear better is important but l’m not at all sure your dad will be able to engage with the process. Your brain needs to be able to process the different sounds it is hearing and aids are fiddly to put in and easily lost.
I’d give it a go, but don’t be surprised if your dad won’t engage with the process

 

[Rosettastone57]

Hello. Dad’s care home arranged for him to have a hearing test done at my request. He had wax removed and the test revealed he has moderate to severe hearing loss. I expect it’s closer to moderate as he can hear us talking perfectly fine. I’m just waiting for the audiologist to tell me the actual results in decibels.

What I wanted to ask is have any of you had a loved one with dementia wear hearing aids for the first time?

Dad has never had a problem with his hearing that I’ve noticed but I wanted it checked as I’m not sure he’s hearing his phone ring when I call. He has never worn hearing aids and I know they can take a bit of getting used to. My concern is that it may not be a good move on my part to arrange for him to wear hearing aids due to dementia causing him more distress using and adjusting something like a hearing aid.

For those of you who have had hearing aids used for the first time on dementia relative - was it successful?

My mother in law had hearing aids but she could not learn how to put them in as it was a new process, so carers had to put them in for her. Then she would fiddle and take them out leaving them in various places . They helped to a degree, but she never really got used to them

 

[maggie6445]

I'm a hearing aid user and like Sarasa I'd be lost without them.
But.. both my late mum and my OH were given hearing aids with a dementia diagnosis and nether thought they could hear better. I feel that their lack of response wasn't entirely physical but dementia related.
Neither wore them ,kept taking them out and I think they were given them too late in their dementia journeys.
Both had NHS aids ,as I do, and I certainly wouldn't pay for private ones , especially for a pwd having aids for the first time.

 

[SherwoodSue]

Just be aware the aids will amplify everything. Mum finds hers intolerable where there’s background noise.
We have come to realise that some of mums issues are actually language processing issues rather than hearing
Wishing you well

 

[Jan48]

Hubby undiagnosed saw the audiologist on Tuesday at my request . 5 yrs ago was told he had hearing loss and given hearing aid which he could not get used to and at that time did not have any memory issues. His hearing are worse now and he has also memory problems. I was surprised hiw he could talk to her and answered her questions. After the tests she recommends hearing aid to both ears and also need right ear microsuction. He declined and was discharged. I tried to persuade him but he said no and I know he will find it difficult.

 

[SMBeach]

Hi SMBeach, both my parents wear hearing aids. Mum recently and with alzheimers. We have been told if not wearing them will make the dementia much worse, I would strongly suggest having a test and wearing them if necessary as much as possible. Mum's don't need any adjustments they are set at the hospital and just require batteries changing as an when

Hi. Thank you. I have been reading they can help slow down dementia, and improve it.

 

[SMBeach]

Hi @SMBeach i have severe hearing loss and am totally lost without my aids. I agree being able to hear better is important but l’m not at all sure your dad will be able to engage with the process. Your brain needs to be able to process the different sounds it is hearing and aids are fiddly to put in and easily lost.
I’d give it a go, but don’t be surprised if your dad won’t engage with the process

Thank you. This is my concern. I also suspect dad May Day no to wearing them or wear them then moan about them non stop and just give him another piece of tech to get used to etc.

 

[SMBeach]

My mother in law had hearing aids but she could not learn how to put them in as it was a new process, so carers had to put them in for her. Then she would fiddle and take them out leaving them in various places . They helped to a degree, but she never really got used to them

Thank you. I can certainly see dad messing around with them but thought we can only try.

 

[SMBeach]

I'm a hearing aid user and like Sarasa I'd be lost without them.
But.. both my late mum and my OH were given hearing aids with a dementia diagnosis and nether thought they could hear better. I feel that their lack of response wasn't entirely physical but dementia related.
Neither wore them ,kept taking them out and I think they were given them too late in their dementia journeys.
Both had NHS aids ,as I do, and I certainly wouldn't pay for private ones , especially for a pwd having aids for the first time.

Thank you. The audiologist told me hearing aids start at £900 and upwards into thousands. Then after chatting I suddenly thought wait? Can’t he get them free on the nhs. lol. I certainly won’t be buying private just for them to get broken or lost or left on the side. They would be nhs. Although he’s had the test done privately I’m assuming he’d have to have another test through the nhs and there could be a long waiting list.

 

[SMBeach]

Just be aware the aids will amplify everything. Mum finds hers intolerable where there’s background noise.
We have come to realise that some of mums issues are actually language processing issues rather than hearing
Wishing you well

Thank you. Dad doesn’t seem to like the sound of ‘busyness’. For example he didn’t want to go into the lovely cafe area because people were laughing and chatting etc. he said it’s too noisy (and it really isn’t). So background noise and any other increase in noise may be a problem for him.

 

[maggie6445]

The waiting list in our area wasn't too long for my OH ,around 3 months. It depends where you had the hearing test if he'd need another. Our local Specsavers do hearing tests and provide private and NHS hearing aids.
I've also had leaflets through the door advertising home visits for NHS eye and hearing tests and those services may be quicker. You might like to see if it's available in your dad's area.

 

[Cardinal]

My husband is having trouble with his hearing. He just had a follow up appointment with the memory clinic last week and I asked if I should have him tested for hearing aides. The memory clinic said they would not recommend them for him because it is doubtful he will be able to put them in himself and once I put them in for him he will probably just take them back out.

I’m still debating if I should have him tested or not.

 

[SMBeach]

The waiting list in our area wasn't too long for my OH ,around 3 months. It depends where you had the hearing test if he'd need another. Our local Specsavers do hearing tests and provide private and NHS hearing aids.
I've also had leaflets through the door advertising home visits for NHS eye and hearing tests and those services may be quicker. You might like to see if it's available in your dad's area.

Thank you. The care home arranged a test and wax removal which I paid £70 for. They mustn’t offer nhs aids as they only talked about the cost and it was excessive. So I’ve now asked the care home to have him referred for nhs hearing test via his gp. I’m also wondering how accurate the test actually was. I’m thinking if dad’s dementia affected the outcome because he didn’t remember he was to press a button when he heard the noise or beep etc. As I wasn’t there it’s difficult to know whether any delay was actually caused by his hearing or just his brain not processing what he needed to do. 🤷🏻‍♀️

 

[SMBeach]

My husband is having trouble with his hearing. He just had a follow up appointment with the memory clinic last week and I asked if I should have him tested for hearing aides. The memory clinic said they would not recommend them for him because it is doubtful he will be able to put them in himself and once I put them in for him he will probably just take them back out.

I’m still debating if I should have him tested or not.

Thank you. This is what I’m wondering. But at least if they are just nhs aids I won’t feel like it’s a total waste of dad decides they’re not gif him etc.

 

[maggie6445]

Thank you. This is what I’m wondering. But at least if they are just nhs aids I won’t feel like it’s a total waste of dad decides they’re not gif him etc.

I was in he room when my OH had his hearing test and I seriously wonder how accurate it was . He wasn't pressing the buzzer and the audiologist was asking him if he could hear anything! Sometimes he nodded but I did think it a bit farcical. I was surprised when he was given a pair as I thought the audiologist was going to say he couldn't get a proper test.

My OH was happy to have the aids in but said that he could hear without them . He doesn't know when the batteries are running down either. In the end I changed his when I did mine but my batteries are smaller and expire before his so they were never fully used.
I think it's a language processing issue with my OH and I don't use them now . It's just another job for me without any real benefit!

 

[My Mum's Daughter]

At the time of diagnosis, Mum had already been wearing hearing aids for at least 5 years but as her illness progressed, she kept removing them. One aid was missing for months and turned up hidden in the centre of a ball of wool. They've been thrown on the floor, found in her bed and one went down the toilet.

Go for NHS-they are replaced free of charge, private replacements are chargeable.

Mark the hearing aids with his initials, they all look very similar.

Have a weekly "battery changing day"

Ask for all additional hearing aid features to be disabled.

Hope this helps.

 

[maggie6445]

The new NHS hearing aids have smaller batteries than the older model. Mine only lasted five days as opposed to nearly a fortnight with the older aids. At the moment , because I'm up in the night and fall asleep with them in batteries only last 3 days.!!