Hi all,
I'm sure this is something that will have been asked before, but I couldn't find a thread that covered precisely our issues.
My grandfather has very poor hearing, which exacerbates the isolation he experiences in social situations. He cannot follow general conversation and when I speak to him on the phone he often cannot hear me so our "chats" (mainly just me wittering on for as long as I can) are cut short. If he's anywhere public with background noise, or in a scenario where people speak in groups, then forget it, he retreats into his own head or nods off. At home, he has the TV on so loud the whole set vibrates, making it an unpleasant environment for the carers at times.
At considerable expense, he does have digital hearing aids. They are small and fiddly, with little tubes that feed into his ear hole from the main unit that wraps around the back of his ear. We have all the usual problems with his breaking them whenever he thinks the batteries need replacing (buying batteries goes through phases of being an obsession), he usually puts them in their box without switching them off etc etc. But the main problem is that you really have to bully him into wearing them. My mum or the carers carefully put them on him, making sure they're appropriately positioned, but within minutes he's whipped them off and put them in his pocket. (They're frequently misplaced as a result.)
We can take some measure towards trying to tackle the other problems, but the main one we're looking for advice on dealing with is how to get him to wear them. He insists (and can even get quite angry) that he hears perfectly well without them, and simply does. not. need. them!
Does anyone have any tips on how to get him to wear them, even just for the most crucial moments? He attends several interactive groups to try to keep him active, but won't be getting the benefit if he can't follow proceedings. We're having a family lunch in a restaurant for his 90th birthday in a couple of weeks, and he'll just be so left out if he can't hear what's being said.
Thanks in advance for any advice.
I'm sure this is something that will have been asked before, but I couldn't find a thread that covered precisely our issues.
My grandfather has very poor hearing, which exacerbates the isolation he experiences in social situations. He cannot follow general conversation and when I speak to him on the phone he often cannot hear me so our "chats" (mainly just me wittering on for as long as I can) are cut short. If he's anywhere public with background noise, or in a scenario where people speak in groups, then forget it, he retreats into his own head or nods off. At home, he has the TV on so loud the whole set vibrates, making it an unpleasant environment for the carers at times.
At considerable expense, he does have digital hearing aids. They are small and fiddly, with little tubes that feed into his ear hole from the main unit that wraps around the back of his ear. We have all the usual problems with his breaking them whenever he thinks the batteries need replacing (buying batteries goes through phases of being an obsession), he usually puts them in their box without switching them off etc etc. But the main problem is that you really have to bully him into wearing them. My mum or the carers carefully put them on him, making sure they're appropriately positioned, but within minutes he's whipped them off and put them in his pocket. (They're frequently misplaced as a result.)
We can take some measure towards trying to tackle the other problems, but the main one we're looking for advice on dealing with is how to get him to wear them. He insists (and can even get quite angry) that he hears perfectly well without them, and simply does. not. need. them!
Does anyone have any tips on how to get him to wear them, even just for the most crucial moments? He attends several interactive groups to try to keep him active, but won't be getting the benefit if he can't follow proceedings. We're having a family lunch in a restaurant for his 90th birthday in a couple of weeks, and he'll just be so left out if he can't hear what's being said.
Thanks in advance for any advice.