Caring for Senior Citizens: Communicating with the Elderly

The next installment on my series about Caring for Senior Citizens. As issues come up in my own care of my 84-year-old mother-in-law, I'm passing what I've learned on to others. Today's topic: communication with the elderly. One of the tools that senior citizens are most reluctant to use are hearing aids. They will accept eyeglasses, medications, dentures and sometimes even Depends before they will admit to needing one or more hearing aids. Those of you who care for the elderly are nodding your heads vigorously.

What is so evil about a hearing aid? I'm sure that hearing aids can be uncomfortable and annoying from time to time. I know for a fact that hearing aids don't really help with clarity of sound, only volume. But seriously, glasses aren't always a joy to wear either, but we accept those no questions asked. But suggest a hearing aid to a senior citizen and after shouting at you for five minutes that they can't understand you, they will look at you with a wounded expression and ask 'are you saying that I can't hear?'. It's like you are asking them to sacrifice a kidney or cut off a leg. If I'm not mistaken, Medicare is pretty good about paying for a hearing aid (don't quote me though).

So if you've succeeded in persuading your senior citizen loved one to get a hearing aid, well done. If you are still shouting your way through conversations, here are some tips that might prevent you from popping a lung trying to make them understand.

Speak slowly. Many times a senior citizen can hear the volume of your voice, but you have spoken too rapidly. I've even heard geriatric caregivers rattle off a string of instructions to an elderly person who caught only about half of what was said. Slow down. Measure your words.

Enunciate your words carefully. Don't exaggerate the pronunciation but do speak clearly. I'm only a babe of 45, but I can't understand mumbling, or garbled speech.

Adjust the pitch, instead of raising the volume. Pitch is important for making yourself understood. High squeaky or adenoidal voices are not only difficult to understand, they are annoying. Voices that are pitched low are sometimes too gruff to understand. Adding volume only turns into muffled roaring.

As you would in a theater production, you must project. Speak from your deep in your gut, not your throat. There is a way to make an audience hear you way to the back of the theater without shouting. Projecting your voice is a matter of making your voice bigger.

Most of all, try to stay patient and calm. The more upset you get, the louder and harsher your voice becomes. This will make the senior citizen nervous and incoherent. It's not easy, but if you practice these techniques you will communicate with the senior citizen much more effectively.