Those with hearing impaired loved ones who are seeking assisted living homes in Matthews, NC will be pleased to know that these communities offer a number of accommodations which are designed to help those with hearing challenges.
Hearing Based Assisted Living Minimizes Isolation
Hearing loss is known to isolate retirees, often because they will become uncomfortable during communication with others. This is especially true when their hearing issues have appeared recently. By joining a community where they will be tended to by caretakers who can adapt to their condition, this will help minimize isolation.
Hearing Based Assisted Living Provides a Built-in Refuge
Hearing loss by itself can be a traumatic experience, but when combined with the death of friends and loved ones along with other health issues, this can quickly lead to despair and depression. This is the time when community is so important, because being around similarly aged people you can socialize with can go a long ways to alleviate anxiety while also creating opportunities for learning and new experiences.
The Activities Provide Social Stimulation
The activities that hearing challenged individuals engage in are of great importance. If these activities aren’t designed to accommodate their hearing deficiencies, it can actually make things worse. The best activities for elders who are hearing challenged include:
- Scent therapy
- Captioned movies or films
- Sculpting and painting
- Exercise and dancing led by instructors who understand hearing problems
- Tactile activities like texture identification or sewing
Hearing Based Assisted Living Can Minimize Dementia Risk
Studies show that even mild cases of hearing loss that remain untreated can double one’s risk of developing dementia. The reason for this is because hearing impairments are believed to create an adverse domino effect which will cause lower social engagement, alterations inside the brain structure and extra cognitive load, which increases the likelihood of getting dementia.
Hearing Based Assisted Living Provides Greater Health Resources
Many American families care for their aging loved ones at home. While this can be effective in some cases, things can become extremely difficult once their loved one develops dementia or Alzheimer’s, or they reach a point where they are no longer able to perform basic daily tasks. Such a situation can quickly take its toll on caretakers, but by relocating them to an assisted living community, they will be able to get proper preventative care from professionals who have the time, energy and resources to provide it.
Assisted Living Prevents Falls
Those who are hard of hearing have a greater risk of slipping and falling. In fact, research shows that any form of hearing deficiency will increase one’s fall risk by triple. This occurs due to the reduced environmental and spatial awareness along with lower balance.
Assisted living communities are well aware of this which is why they implement fall prevention techniques and housing which is ergonomically designed to stop it, along with technology, exercises and various types of risk assessment. As you can see, the benefits of referring a hearing impaired loved one to assisted living are many. It avoids injury, treatment delays and cognitive impairment.
