Half of U.S. adults over the age of 74 have disabling hearing loss. If your dad is one of them, it’s not surprising. Men are twice as likely to lose their hearing than women, and it can be difficult for your dad to admit it to others. He’s frustrated and it’s causing him to withdraw. You need to find a way to help him remain social and active, and speech therapy services are one of the best ways to support him.

How Does Speech Therapy Help?

For much of your dad’s life, he’s heard everything you said, but now sounds are muffled and distorted. Learning how to communicate after hearing loss occurs is difficult and can cause anxiety, withdrawal from social situations, and even depression.

The last thing that you want to happen is to see your dad withdraw from everyone. Your dad needs to maintain the ability to communicate with others, and that’s where speech therapy comes in.

Speech therapists assess your dad’s level of hearing loss to determine if there are any tones or pitches he hears. If he has complete hearing loss, it can feel isolating. His speech therapist works with him to find ways to communicate.

Your dad may benefit from a hearing aid, but there are no guarantees that it will restore his hearing. A speech therapist can teach him how to use gestures, sign language, and written notes to communicate with others. He might learn how to read lips over time.

Hearing loss is just one of the issues. As you age, your tone, pitch, and volume can also change. Speech therapists also help with those changes as when paired with hearing loss, it can be hard to understand what is being said.

Speech Therapists Also Help the Family

Your dad’s speech therapist helps him find ways to communicate, but everyone else needs to help out too. A speech therapist also works with close family members to help them better understand how to talk to their dad.

To work with a speech therapist, you should start by asking your doctor to refer your dad to an ear, nose, and throat specialist. Have your dad’s hearing professionally tested to determine there are no underlying issues like tumors or a build-up of earwax.

After that, your dad’s doctors will determine if he’s a good candidate for hearing aids. They can also refer him to speech therapy. Make the appointment and line up a ride to get your dad there on time. If that’s not possible, ask about speech therapy at home.

If it helps to have the speech therapist come to your dad’s home, arrange home visits. What’s most important is that your dad has the opportunity to get the help he needs to stay social and engaged.

Sources: https://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/statistics/quick-statistics-hearing

If you are considering hiring Speech Therapy Services in Shelby OH, call the caring staff at Central Star Home Health at (419) 610-2161.  Providing services for families in Mansfield, Lexington, Bellville, Crestline, Galion, Shelby, Ashland, Ontario, Bucyrus, Mt. Vernon, Marion, Willard, and the surrounding areas.

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Stephen Sternbach

CEO at Central Star Home Health Services

With over 35 years of experience, Stephen Sternbach has been the Chairman of the Board of Directors, President, and Chief Executive Officer of Star Multi Care Services since 1987. After the sale of the New York and New Jersey operations of Star Multi Care Services, Sternbach brought the company private where he remains President and CEO of this 40-million dollar company. With Sternbach at the helm, Star Multi Care Services employs more than 650 employees, in six offices throughout Florida, Pennsylvania, Ohio and New York.

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