Hearing Loss in Elderly: Early Diagnosis and Intervention for Better Cognitive and Social Health - Dr Rohit Udaya Prasad

Hearing loss in elderly is an issue which is seen in almost every household in our country, which can range from mild to severe - profound levels.

It’s generally the elephant in the room and is least expressed by the elderly and addressed by the family. Visual impairment has the immediate attention of the person who has it, but hearing loss in elderly is addressed late or never. In our society, hearing impaired elderly aren’t sympathized and assisted as much as you see with visually impaired people.

Hearing loss progressively leads to poor socializing skills, where the elderly isolate themselves from day-to-day conversations and prefer solitude.

Many times while conversing with hearing impaired elderly, we notice they smile when unable to have the clarity in a conversation or would reply differently. Day to day activities need listening to spoken language and active conversations, especially in the elderly, as it’s one such activity which isn’t physically demanding.

This keeps them mentally engaged and helps to have a good memory with recent activities. Usually, the family of the hearing impaired find the conversations tasking and bring them for a hearing assessment. Some of the hearing impaired do visit on their own accord and get an assessment, as they are more socially active and also professionally engaged.

Appropriate hearing evaluation with continuous engagement of the patient with hearing loss is needed to make them understand the nature of hearing loss and the possible solutions. Hearing solutions can range from as simple as a hearing aid to a cochlear implant surgery.

Cochlear implants in the geriatric age group is done in cases where they no more benefit with a hearing aid due to the severe/ profound nature of hearing loss. Providing the cochlear implant device via surgery to the elderly also has its challenges when they have other health issues.

Optimizing the patient with a good multidisciplinary approach prior to surgical intervention is done prior to the cochlear implant surgery. Intervening at the right time without worrying about hearing assistance as a taboo is much needed in today’s society.

Dementia, depression is worsened due to hearing loss in elderly which can be tackled with simple hearing solutions at the right time.