<p>Since so many of you probably are around my age and have parents around the age of mine, I thought this would be a good place to ask this question, although it does feel a little weird asking something like this of total strangers!</p>
<p>My mother is in her early 70s and very active with friends, volunteer work, and involved in the lives of her children and grandchildren. She’s very sharp–reads a lot, reads the newspaper daily, does crossword puzzles, goes to the theater. Lately, however, I have noticed that her sense of humor seems to be missing. We used to enjoy the same jokes and find the same things funny. Now, though, she frequently takes things quite literally and doesn’t get jokes. It’s subtle, but conversations are hard work lately and they didn’t used to be.</p>
<p>Sometimes I wonder if it’s her hearing that’s weakening. She does like the tv and radio louder than I find comfortable. I asked if she has trouble hearing and she said she doesn’t. </p>
<p>Umm . . . any thoughts? Should I be worried or doing something? Thanks for reading this.</p>
<p>If she’s open to suggestions, I would see if she’d agree to get her hearing tested. My dad mentioned that to my mom. Mom didn’t think she had any hearing difficulty, but she does! She got hearing aids that are helping some. She still misses some dialogue, though. It’s definitely harder for me to talk to her than it used to be. She’s 75.</p>
<p>I have noticed the same thing with my dad who is 85. Try googling early signs of dementia/Alzheimers (personality changes can be a sign). See if your mom exhibits some of the other signs, early detection is really important. If she doesn’t have any of the other signs, it could be just a matter of hearing loss. Good luck!</p>
<p>Woah! Alzheimers? No dont think so. Gently broach the subject about her hearing. It can be a very touchy subject for those getting older.
You can do a few things yourself to check her hearing in a subtle way. Talk to her from behind in a normal tone, assess if she hears you. You can try this approach from either side of her without her seeing your lips move, this way she isnt reading your lips. I know it sounds sneaky, but you can get an idea if her hearing is impaired.</p>
<p>Yes, even if you are able to persuade her to get hearing tested and it shows a SIGNIFICANT hearing loss, be prepared for a battle about what to do about it. We have had this issue with our folks – they CANNOT hear the doorbell and can only hear that we’ve arrived if we call them on their phone (which they have at the loudest ringing volume). My mom is getting deafer all the time but steadfastly refuses to allow us to get her hearing aids, even as a trial (and hers are covered by her insurer to a significant amount).</p>
<p>I’d see if she’ll got for a hearing test. I am deaf in one ear and I’ve ALWAYS missed the nuances that go along with many jokes. I’ve actually been told I have no sense of humor. That’s not it, I just miss the subtleties. As I’ve gotten older I have noticed that I miss some sound in my good ear, so I try to be aware if I think I’m missing something. I hope that’s all it is and that she’ll get checked out.</p>
<p>My H, mom and dad have all lost varying degrees of hearing. It becomes more obvious as they get older and in certain registers. The other day, when we were driving, D & I were very irritated by a high-pitched engine noise coming from another car. H couldn’t hear it AT ALL and didn’t get upset in the least. </p>
<p>Similarly, I have limited and selective sense of smell. It can be a blessing, but somehow I seem to pick up many of the more noxious smells. It’s really hard when you can’t smell OR hear things that may be dangerous. We worry about that for my folks, especially mom, since she likes to walk alone in the early morning and REALLY cannot hear well, even if a car may be backing up or nearing her. At least she tries to wear lighter colored clothing, but it does scare us.</p>
<p>Agree that it’s hard to catch jokes if you can’t hear the nuances–like when you’re in a loud, crowded place & someone is trying to tell you something amusing but you can only catch snatches of it. Not so fun.</p>
<p>Another vote for checking her hearing. If she’s like my dad, he doesn’t think he needs hearing aids–I just plan on his saying “What?” after I make any statement. Sigh…</p>
<p>I’d start with the hearing test. But early signs of dementia can be just this sort of subtle thing. Having gone through it twice - I’m pretty familiar with it.</p>
<p>Also, at the young age of early 70s, it might be time to consider a new doctor, one who specializes in geriatric issues. There are many ailments and conditions that are age related, and sometime their general doctor just may miss some things. We have three seniors we keep tabs on – my mother, mother-in-law and father-in-law, all in their late 80s, early 90s. Hearing is a big issue with my father-in-law; hearing aids are tricky but when they work, and are fitted properly, they do help. Maybe it’s time for a physical to see what’s going on, and perhaps to see if you can nudge her to a doctor that specializes in caring for the elderly. Both my mother and MIL go to such a doctor and it does make a difference in their care. My mom’s doctor sends her a letter which she loves; in it, he explains her health results in a conversational manner. She can review it with us, her kids, and she can refer back to it if she needs to or forgets something. My MIL’s doctor often selects meds that work better with older bodies because she has had experience with many elderly people in the assisted living facility she resides in. Her doctor seems to have more familiarity with treating the elderly and reworked her meds to eliminate some of the problems she was having. She sees several specialists, and is on a lot of meds, so she has to be monitored carefully.</p>
<p>We went through the hearing loss denial thing with my father-in-law, who got to the point where he couldn’t follow any multi-person conversation but refused to even have his hearing tested. It seems that we accept balding, gray hair, and bi-focals, but a hearing aid–even one of the barely visible ones available today–is still a sign of decrepitude and decline that the aging have a terrible time accepting. I just hope H and I have more common sense when the time comes, and that our kids are forceful in making us face the truth.</p>
<p>I agree with hearing test as well…my dad same situation especially conversations with grandkids who often don’t look at the person they are speaking too…I also agree with get ready for potential fight about hearing aides…mine had the hearing test…I honestly think to prove us wrong…then when his hearing loss was confirmed, won’t consider hearing aides…</p>
<p>I agree with the hearing test as your first step. My mother denied she had a hearing problem, even though the TV was always very loud. By the time she finally admitted that she had trouble hearing and was willing to get her hearing tested, she had lost so much of her hearing that even hearing aids only restored partial hearing. At this point she hears so poorly that it’s sometmes hard to carry on a conversation with her. I’m sure she regrets not dealing with her hearing issues earlier than she did.</p>
<p>My Dad is actually aging very well and is still pretty much all there … the one big difference we have noticed is his mind is not a quick or nimble as it was. If conversation take a direction he was not expecting he often has some trouble changing gears as he is stuck in his original line of thought. He also has gotten much more literal and misses many jokes, quick jumps in topics, and clever connections. He is no where close to having dementia but his mind is certainly slowing down … and frankly, to have an excellent conversation with him we have to make sure the conversation stays with him.</p>
<p>Maybe it is her hearing but I wouldn’t rule out age related dementia. I have noticed that my mom (81) has been having a harder time with abstract thinking and that what humor is, in most cases. Her short term memory is becoming an issue as well. Some days I don’t notice it and others I do.</p>
<p>Sounds like my FIL - sort of tuned out subtly at first, but did not want to acknowledge that he wasn’t hearing everything well. After a year or two he finally went to an ENT who led him to a very good hearing aide specialist. this was after a few years of prodding by his children. Thankfully, he decided on hearing devices that work very well - he’s not missing out as much. I think he was helped by talking to friends of the same age with similar issues. Felt less self conscious about the aides - understood that they really kept him involved and aware. This is a very smart man - Brown and Yale grad, yet stubborn and proud.</p>
<p>If your mom, op is in her early 70’s, she is barely old enough to be my mom. So I am probably between you and your mom. </p>
<p>My hearing is definitely not what it use to be. I need the tv louder and I have a difficult time hearing when I talk to my kids on their cell phones. My kids get frustrated with me and my hearing.</p>
<p>I guess I am now paying for all those loud rock concerts!</p>
<p>My dad died almost two years ago and he was getting really deaf for years before that. My H has some hearing loss from those rock concerts and from a neglected ear infection in early adulthood. As a daughter and wife of two men who had or have hearing issues, I beg you…get some intervention when your hearing starts to go! Do whatever you can to remedy it. It is hard enough to get old and be alone but to have difficulty hearing conversation further isolates a person and deprives them of stimuli needed to stay sharp. My dad was so stubborn about not getting a hearing aid. Being with him was so difficult and it was so hard to have a conversation that often, some people wouldn’t bother.</p>
<p>My H drives me crazy! He’s nowhere near needing hearing aid but the constant “WHAT?” peppered through conversation can be very trying. It doesn’t help my patience that I was dating him when he had that ear infection and I had to nag him for weeks to see a doctor. By the time he did, the damage was done.</p>