Glasses and hearing aids: The unheralded quality of life features that, all too often, are taken for granted. My client recently had the unfortunate experience of having her glasses break – more specifically the frames. She has a dementia diagnosis and it was a very sudden and distinct change in her reaction to her surroundings and to her caregivers that was most striking. Since this frame breakage has happened before, I quickly got them repaired so her “world” could return to her “normal”. A person with dementia is so used to things in their environment maintaining a certain way that when any aspect of that equilibrium is disrupted it can have a very significant impact.
Vision and hearing are such simple yet very vital senses that must not be overlooked. Clearly labeling eyeglasses with a white out product so your permanent marker can show up is one trick. The same goes for taking a photo (so easy these days with smart phones) of the glasses on the person’s face so if they are ever lost in a hospital transition or misplaced in a congregate living environment you have an easy way to identify them. This trick was helpful with another client when her hearing aids went missing. Taking a photo (as well as keeping the model and style number handy) of those small devices made the search in Lost and Found a bit easier to rule out from the collection of hearing aids the nursing home had amassed.
Speaking of hearing aids – this is another area that, new batteries and plenty of them, can be so vital in assisting the person with dementia to really enjoy and participate in their surroundings. Like glasses, when a person can’t hear adequately, it adds to their confusion or desire to be reclusive and withdraw. Ensuring hearing aid batteries are unplugged at night and reinserted properly in the morning can be such a simple step and so necessary to ensure your loved one’s quality of life is maintained to the highest degree possible.
janet thompson says
March 8, 2013 at 8:26 pmChris,
We have found that having hearing aid batteries in the med cart and orders to change them weekly help maintain our residents’ hearing aids in top shape!
–Janet
PS: Great photo!
Danielle says
March 15, 2013 at 8:09 pmThanks Janet – I do know that is also a very effective means of keeping hearings aids working at top shape at all times. Thanks!
Hope things are good for you and life is treating you well.
-Chris