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In This Episode:
Dr. K talks about how we can help older adults address hearing loss with Meg Wallhagen, PhD, Professor of Gerontological Nursing at UCSF’s School of Nursing. She is a nationally recognized expert on hearing loss and has been on the board of the Hearing Loss Association of America since 2010. This episode is Part 1 of a two-part series on hearing loss. They discuss:
- Why hearing loss in aging usually causes distortion of sounds, and how that affects understanding speech (and grandchildren)
- Why it usually doesn’t help to speak more loudly to someone with hearing loss
- How hearing loss affects the health, wellbeing, and social relationships of older adults
- Why older people often don’t want to address hearing loss
- The problem of healthcare professionals overlooking hearing loss
- How hearing loss affects brain function
- Why it can become harder to successfully address hearing loss once it’s severe
- How hearing loss should be evaluated and what happens during a hearing test
- Why poor Medicare coverage of hearing loss often creates barriers to care
- How Professor Wallhagen’s brochure can help older adults agree to address hearing loss
Related episode:
095 – Interview: Hearing Aids & Other Hearing Loss Treatment Options
Related Resources:
- Professor Wallhagen’s Brochure (for people affected by hearing loss):
- UCSF Audiology:The Speech Banana
- Medicare.gov: Hearing & balance exams & hearing aids
- National Academies: Hearing Health Care for Adults: Priorities for Improving Access and Affordability
- Hearing Loss Association of America’s: Hearing Loss Basics
- Better Health While Aging:
- Professor Wallhagen’s Research:
Transcript: Click here.
Note from Dr. K: We don’t have the funds to transcribe most podcast episodes, but we decided to transcribe Professor Wallhagen’s episodes, to make them more accessible to anyone experiencing hearing loss.
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DR. B says
Thank you on spreading awareness for hearing loss. However, I would have REALLY loved to see an Audiologist included in this discussion. We are hearing (also balance) experts but I see that in the world of healthcare, we somehow fall to the back burner or aren’t included in these discussions.
Also, Audiologists have not used tuning forks in distinguishing between sensorineural and conductive hearing loss since probably the 50’s-60’s. We are able to determine the type of hearing loss based off a combination of the subjective tests (comprehensive hearing evaluation, which includes the air conduction & bone conduction pure-tone audiogram) and tympanometry (one of the objective tests we run).
Also, whisper tests have not been used for many years and are not considered a valid test of hearing sensitivity. There is no standardized way to do one, it is not frequency specific, and has no means of objective calibration.
Overall, thank you for this discussion and also bringing up the Medicare coverage. This is an important topic which is why I dedicated my entire life to it as an AuD.
Nicole Didyk, MD says
Absolutely would say that my audiology colleagues are valued professionals in caring for older adults!
Also appreciate the update about testing for hearing loss – we still learn the tuning fork and whisper test in medical school. They can be a good screening test for the office when we don’t have more sophisticated tools.
Mari MUSANTE says
WHAT AN AMAZING RESOURCE! THERE ARE SO MANY CHANGES THAT AFFECT US AS WE AGE AND MOST OF US ARE NOT AWARE OF WHAT IS GOING ON IN OUR BODIES AND WHAT WEGET OLDER. AND THIS
WILL BE HELPFUL FOR OUR ADULT CHILDREN TOO WHO FIND THEMSELVES DEALING WITH AGING
PARENTS.
THANK you,
Mari MUSANTE
Leslie Kernisan, MD MPH says
So glad you are finding the podcast and site helpful!
Thank you for letting me know.
Kathy says
So happy to have found this podcast!
I feel empowered to know the science behind Mom’s obvious hearing loss. Certain her withdrawal from conversation and feeling uncomfortable in the presence of immediate family is due to hearing loss.
She won’t be happy, but I most definitely will continue to advocate for an assessment.
Leslie Kernisan, MD MPH says
Thank you for this comment. I’m so glad to know the episode was helpful.
Marilyn says
I wonder why your podcast is overwhelmed by a musical track?? If you want to be heard by us aging people, it would be a good idea to have no background noise since it is difficult to hear language and comprehend it when distracted by background noise including music, which has more high pitched sounds than speech!!!!
Nicole Didyk, MD says
Hello, Marilyn and I’m sorry you had difficulty listening to the podcast.
I didn’t hear any background music at all, and I listened with headphones…I wonder if you had another tab open on your device that was playing music or some other technical glitch?
Please try again and let us know if you have the same problem. Thanks for listening ad for taking the time to give us feedback!
Dave deBronkart says
I’ve recently been catching up on past episodes, and I have overdue thanks for this two-part item! In particular, the way Meg and you break down hearing problems into different categories is so useful (and so clearly presented, as always).
I myself don’t have hearing problems (as far as I know – I’ve been accused of not LISTENING but that’s different!) But I’ve already told an endless stream of people about how it’s not just a matter of turning up the volume; how detection of consonants can fade before anything “noticeable” is happening; and especially the neural processing issue. I LOVE the analogy of listening to someone with a strong foreign accent – it just takes longer to be sure of what you just heard. So great.
Please keep it up. I know your kind of audience isn’t very chatty in blog comments but your archives here are just a gold mine of useful information that almost everyone will need in the foreseeable future. (The only way NOT to need it is to die first…:-))
Leslie Kernisan, MD MPH says
Thank you Dave for this comment, and for your encouragement!
I love that you are helping your fellow baby boomers learn more about their health and how they can be proactive.