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Grandparents! Do It For The Kids

Mar 13, 2014

One of the hardest things to deal with when losing your hearing is the way it can change your relationships with the ones you love. Hearing loss hits home in a unique way for people with grandchildren. But those relationships can stay as strong as ever with the right support. Find out what YOU can do…

The relationship between children and their grandparents has been proven to be an important one in the life of the child. Oxford University in the UK studied the relationships kids have with their senior elders, and concluded that kids who have strong relationships with their grandparents are better adjusted than those who don’t have those relationships.

Communication Is The Most Important Part Of The Relationship

Communication is a key part of that relationship. Even when children and their grandparents don’t live near each other, with strong communication, the distance isn’t felt. In the Oxford study, the distance between grandkids and grandparents wasn’t an important factor when they had good communication.

Good Communication Starts With Being Able To Hear

Good communication requires talking, and more importantly, listening. And it starts with being able to hear what the other person is saying. A common type of hearing loss for older adults is loss of high frequencies, which can lead to difficulty hearing children’s voices which are higher pitched than adult voices.

Hearing Loss Can Affect Your Relationship With Your Grandchildren

Age-related hearing loss is one of the most common physical changes that comes with getting older. Many senior adults – most of them with grandchildren – have some degree of hearing loss that is affecting their relationships with their loved ones.

Hearing Loss Is Common In Older Adults

The National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD) found that 30 percent of people between 65-74 years of age have a hearing disability, and 50 percent of 75-year-olds have hearing loss.

Grandchildren Motivate Grandparents To Get Hearing Aids

When you ask a grandparent with hearing aids what one of their main motivations for seeking treatment for their hearing loss was, they often cite their grandkids, and being able to communicate and care for them, as one of the primary factors.

Hearing Aids Can Increase Safety For Grandchildren

Caring for kids is as important as communicating with them. When looking after their grandchildren, seniors need to be able to hear them call out from another room or outside. They need to be able to hear car horns when they’re driving their grandchildren home from school, and they need to be confident giving and receiving information on the phone in case of an emergency.

Hearing Aids Help Maintain Healthy Relationships

For senior adults, hearing aids are an important tool in maintaining healthy relationships, especially the relationships with their grandchildren.

If you or a senior loved one is wondering about how well you hear, and what you can do to improve your hearing, call us today at 703-942-8110 or visit us online at www.HearingAidDoctors.com.

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