Hearing loss falls squarely under the category of caducity for most of us. Apparently, inner ears are perishable. While Joe Bob might still have ears like a fox, many of us lose our ability to hear clearly as we age. Couple hearing loss with cognitive decline and you have a powder keg just waiting to be lit by a single misunderstood word.
Interestingly, there are certain letters or combinations of letters that are the first to be misunderstood when hearing starts to go. These sounds are ‘f’, ‘s’, and ‘th’. A real problem if your name is Theosophine. This link will take you to an article that explains more about the “Speech Banana” theory of hearing loss.
A 2013 study points to a link between hearing loss and dementia. Read the article on the AARP website through this link:
While the researchers found no conclusive evidence, it makes sense to treat hearing loss in a dementia sufferer (DS) because anything you can do to make his ability to communicate easier, do it. For his sake and yours and everyone else’s.
Just don’t wait too late because a DS with moderate to severe cognitive issues will have difficulty learning how to use hearing aids and he will forget where they are. Just sayin’.
Caducity 