ILS Care Library

Part 3 · Mind, senses and communication

When the person hears little or nothing

Content under professional review before publication.

1Making yourself understood without shouting

The problem

When someone hears little, the first instinct is to shout. Shouting is not clearer: it distorts the voice and sounds angry. The person grows frustrated and ends up withdrawing.

What is happening underneath

Age-related hearing loss is not "not wanting to hear". High-pitched sounds and background noise are the hardest: at a table with several people talking, the voice gets lost even when it is loud enough.

Step by step

  1. Get their attention before speaking: say their name or touch their shoulder gently, and wait until they look at you.
  2. Face them, at their level, with light on your face. Many people lip-read without realizing it.
  3. Speak clearly and a little slower, in short sentences. Raise your voice slightly only if needed, without shouting.
  4. If they did not understand, do not repeat the same words louder: say it a different way.
  5. Lower background noise: turn off or down the TV, close a noisy window, and let one person speak at a time.

What you must never do

  • Never shout or speak from another room or with your back turned.
  • Never cover your mouth with your hand or speak while eating.
  • Never say "never mind" when they do not understand: it shuts them out and hurts.

When to ask for help

Sudden hearing loss, especially in one ear, or loss with pain, ringing, or dizziness, should be seen by a doctor promptly. Sometimes it is only earwax, which an ENT doctor checks. For existing loss, the audiologist assesses and fits.

2Hearing aids and their care

The problem

Many hearing aids end up in a drawer: they are uncomfortable, they whistle, they are not clear, or the battery runs out. Used well they change life; abandoned, they do nothing.

What is happening underneath

A hearing aid does not give back the hearing of your twenties: it amplifies, and it takes getting used to. The first days in quiet places help the ear and brain adapt.

Step by step

  1. When it "does not work", check the basics: that it is on, that the battery or charge is good, and that earwax is not blocking the sound.
  2. Clean them as the audiologist showed, dry, and store them in their case away from moisture.
  3. Start at home, in quiet, for short spells, then add time gradually. Adapting takes weeks.
  4. Fit them properly: constant whistling usually means they are not seated well or there is wax. Check it.
  5. If it is still unclear or uncomfortable, do not leave it in the drawer: go back to the audiologist to readjust.

What you must never do

  • Never get them wet or leave them in the sun or near heat.
  • Never turn the volume to maximum all at once: it stuns and does not clarify.
  • Never give up on the aid because it "does not work": it is almost always a matter of adjustment.

When to ask for help

The audiologist fits the aid to each ear and teaches how to use and care for it. If the person rejects it, mention it: it is often a question of getting the setting right.

3Safety and not being left out

The problem

Someone who hears little may miss the doorbell, a smoke alarm, the phone, or a car approaching. And, without meaning to, the family slowly leaves them out of conversations.

What is happening underneath

Both risks are real: safety, not hearing an important alert, and isolation, which brings sadness and speeds decline. Both can be cared for.

Step by step

  1. Add alerts that do not depend on hearing: smoke alarms with light or vibration, a doorbell with a light, a phone with high volume and a screen.
  2. To tell them something, stand where they can see you or touch their shoulder gently; do not talk to their back.
  3. At the table or in a gathering, place them where they see faces, with good light, and let one person talk at a time.
  4. Include them: if everyone laughed, tell them at what; if the topic changed, say what it is. Do not leave them guessing.
  5. Important things, a time, an address, a doctor instruction, write down as well as say.

What you must never do

  • Never talk about them in front of them as if they were not there.
  • Never leave them out of the conversation with an "I will tell you later" that never comes.
  • Never rely on sound alarms alone for their safety.

When to ask for help

If isolation is dimming them, tell the doctor. A social worker can advise on alerting devices and support. Caring for hearing also helps memory and mood.

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