Hearing and Older Adults
by Richard H. Gentzler, Jr.
Several years ago, while bending down to pick up a stone in my backyard, my right ear suddenly went silent. I assumed there was a wax buildup in my ear, so I thought nothing of it. But after several days of not hearing in my right ear, I visited my physician. Following an exam and an MRI, I discovered that I had gone deaf in my right ear and that I was losing my hearing in my left ear. I have learned that interactive teaching and training is not always easy. When I ask a question while standing before a crowd in a seminar, it takes several moments for me to detect who responded. Sometimes people have to point in the direction of the respondent before I know where the sound originated.
Hearing loss is one of the most prevalent chronic conditions in the United States. About a third of Americans ages 65-74 and a half of those age 85 and older have hearing problems. They may mistake words in a Bible study class or while listening to a sermon, miss musical notes when singing in worship, or leave a ringing doorbell unanswered.
The National Institute on Aging states that hearing loss can be caused by exposure to very loud noises over a long period of time, viral or bacterial infections, heart conditions or stroke, head injuries, tumors, certain medicines, heredity, or changes in the ear that happen with aging. But surprisingly, according to the National Council on Aging, nearly three out of five older Americans with hearing loss and six out of seven middle-aged Americans with hearing loss do not use hearing aids.
It stands to reason that if hearing problems increase with age, and the church has many members who are older adults, more people in the church are having hearing problems. Unfortunately, some people may not admit they are having trouble hearing. Yet older people who can't hear well may become depressed or withdraw from worship and other church activities to avoid the frustration or embarrassment of not understanding what is being said. Some studies have indicated that 90 percent of church members unable to hear well have dropped out of church participation or are likely to do so.
What about your congregation and its ministry with people who have hearing loss? Are your church facilities and programs inviting and accessible for them? Are you aware of the needs and abilities of people in your congregation who experience hearing loss?
Here are some tips for communicating with someone you know who has a hearing problem:
- Face the person and talk clearly.
- Stand where the lighting is on the face of the speaker and where there is low background noise.
- Speak clearly and at a reasonable speed; do not hide your mouth, eat, or chew gum.
- Use facial expressions or gestures to give useful clues.
- Reword your statement if needed.
- Be patient and stay positive and relaxed.
- Ask how you may help the listener.
- Set up meetings so that all speakers are asked to stand, if possible, and use a microphone. Remember to give time for the person with hearing loss to locate a speaker, and allow only one person to talk at a time.
- Include the person with hearing loss in all discussions about him or her to prevent feelings of isolation.
- Make sure your church has a good quality Public Address System.
- Provide Assistive Listening Devices (Pocket Talkers, FM Systems).
- Have an American Sign Language (ASL) interpreter for all church events. This is important even if people with hearing loss don't "sign" because the addition of gestures and visual cues helps those who have become hard of hearing.
Ministries with older adults should include an active role in ministry with people with hearing loss. Remember, you are not alone in your ministry. There are resources available to help you, for example:
American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA), Rockville, MD.
800-498-2071
www.asha.org
E-mail: actioncenter@asha.org
Info to Go, Gallaudet University, Washington, DC.
202-651-5051
http://clerccenter.gallaudet.edu/InfoToGo
National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD), National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD.
800-241-1044
www.nidcd.nih.gov
E-mail: nidcdinfo@nidcd.nih.gov
National Institute on Aging Information Center, Gaithersburg, MD.
Phone: 800-222-2225
www.nia.nih.gov
United Methodist National Committee on Ministries with Deaf, Late-Deafened,
Hard of Hearing, and Deaf-Blind People
This committee provides resource and training support for leaders of older adult ministries in congregations, districts, and conferences. The National Committee has an excellent Accessibility Survey for determining the needs and resources for ministry and mission with hard of hearing and late-deafened people in your congregation. For more information, contact the committee
at the General Board of Global Ministries, 475 Riverside Dr., Rm 330, New York, NY 10115. Phone: 212-870-3870. Website: http://gbgm-umc.org/disc/deafministries.stm.
Dr. Richard H. Gentzler, Jr., Director, Center on Aging & Older Adult Ministries, Nashville, Tennessee; rgentzler@gbod.org.