My mother’s hearing loss means that even with her hearing aids in, she often totally mishears what I say and her anxiety brain fills in the blanks with worst case scenarios and panic-inducing false scenarios.
For example, this evening, she asked me for her bank balance, and when I said that the banks were closed this late, she somehow thought I said the bank called to say her payments were late.
Sigh. Super frustrating.
@see_the_sus Thank you. 💕
@TheRealDelia as someone with hearing loss, I know it can be frustrating for others (even more so for me!) and apologies if you already know/do this, but... if possible, get her hearing aid programming checked - a good audiologist can do a lot to help. And always make sure you're in the same room and facing her when you speak (that makes a HUGE difference, something I wish my husband would get through his head ;). Good luck to you both 🧡
@CaptHarpo Thank you so much. ❤️she definitely needs replacement hearing aids. Her anxiety is so much worse when she can’t hear well. We are planning to get her new ones next month, but waiting for it is a long road.
@TheRealDelia i’m not sure that you understand the issue with hearing loss. It’s not anxiety. It’s that she doesn’t freaking hear you. You need to make sure that she knows you’re talking to her. You need to stand right in front of her so that she can see you when you talk. You need to speak clearly and distinctly.
And you need to understand that many words are easy to misunderstand when you are somebody like your mother or me who has hearing problems. Hearing aids are not eyeglasses
@TheRealDelia if you think it’s super frustrating for you, imagine how we feel.
If she can read them, it’s always good to have a pencil and paper around to clarify what you just said. And if you don’t understand what’s going on and you miss hear what’s being said it’s pretty easy to end up feeling anxious.
Put Otter AI on your phone and as you’re talking. It can transcribe what you’re saying so she can read it.
@TheRealDelia
😔😢 Sending lots of hugs. ♥️