Fear Dementia? Get Your Hearing Checked

I, like 72.56 million others, am a Baby Boomer. I am also an American and my country, unlike the rest of the world, treasures youth over most everything except possibly wealth.

Baby Boomers are getting old. And Baby Boomers are vain.

Boy, do we have our share of growing-deaf Boomers who refuse to wear a hearing device to help themselves. Why? Vanity, of course.

It’s not the expense. Many medical plans cover hearing devices DOES MEDICARE? and big box stores offer much less expensive hearing aids if your insurance company doesn’t cover the cost.

I know because my sister has hearing aids from Costco. She’s eight years older than me and, up until a few years ago, had super-sonic hearing.

I, on the other hand, was born hearing impaired. I have a dead ear. But, I have another ear that can hear a pin drop two miles away. Okay, that’s a bit of an exaggeration. But you get my point. I’ve always had to struggle in social or business situations, positioning myself on the left so I can hear others with my right ear.

I also read lips. Actually I read face. If someone is wearing sunglasses I don’t hear that person as well. Now that we are all wearing medical masks, I won’t be able to read lips.

I’ve always practiced good hearing hygiene because it’s literally a life-or-death situation for me. I stay away, best I can, from loud restaurants, never go to loud nightclubs or concerts. I protect my hearing.

Now, as an aging Baby Boomer, I still have great hearing in my hearing ear. I know this because I compared my hearing test at age eight to my hearing test this year. There is only a 2 percent loss in my upper register. That’s pretty amazing. See me taking a bow?

Those of us who have spent the majority of our life hearing beautifully now possibly can’t. And we either: 1) deny the deafness or 2) find ourselves reluctant to buy a hearing device because people will think we are old and deaf.

I have news for you. If you’re a Boomer, you’re old. Or quickly getting old, and possibly deaf. Remember: We’re the first generation raised on crazy loud music. And we listened without wearing ear protection.

For those of you who may fall into this category, please take this seriously: If you are ignoring your hearing loss or pretending it doesn’t exist, you are at risk of dementia. According to The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry:

“Both hearing loss and depression are independent risk factors for eventual conversion to dementia. The development of depression in a hearing-impaired older adult may be an intermediate step in this pathway. Understanding the brain and behavioral mechanisms linking these conditions may facilitate identification and dissemination of interventions (such as treatment for hearing loss and depression) capable of protecting brain health during aging.”

There is a lovely man with whom I work who is about my age. He’s very deaf. He has hearing aids, but he won’t wear them. Why? Vanity. So what happens? People avoid him because their throats hurt from yelling to be heard by him. So there’s dementia, and there’s also isolation, which leads to depression—which leads to dementia.

My tough love advice: Get Over Yourself. Nobody thinks less of you if you’re wearing a hearing device. They will avoid you, however, if you don’t.

Your choice.

Get more exciting communication tips in Loud and Clear by Karen Berg. Read more here: https://tinyurl.com/wm2tod4