Communication Changes, including your Hearing:
The ability to communicate is a critical tool for life as it gives us the ability to form relationships, express our needs and wants and participate in society. When the ability to communicate is impaired or lost, our entire social history and network is affected. If we cannot communicate, we cannot fully participate in society.
Communication is a complex proves involving words, body language, tone of voice, as well as memory, hearing and attention. In some Parkinson's and in Dementia this causes a progressive loss of communication ability. This is because the loss of memory impacts our ability to remember words and their meanings. This leads to people with dementia having a reduced ability to understand others and use words to express themselves.
The way we say something is far more important than what we say (or the words we use). This is especially important in dementia. As a result, body language and tone of voice become increasingly important in order to communicate with people who have dementia.
Communication difficulties are common in Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia. Changes to communication that occur include:
- Difficulty finding the right word or remembering names
- Difficulty following instructions
- Reduced concentration and attention
- Reduced eye contact
- Loss of interest in conversation
- Speech is mumbled or consists of 'made up' words
- Loss of reading and writing skills
- Repetition of phrases, questions or words.
However, remember this:
- "Speech and language are hugely complex. Just to speak requires activating 100 muscles between the lungs and lips to produce at least 14 distinct sounds a second", said Dr Joseph Duffy of the Mayo Clinic.
- Stroke or brain injury patients often have trouble making sounds or retrieving words.
- “Nobody’s talking to them, nobody’s involving them. It’s very sad."
Communication difficulties can produce frustration and confusion for both the listener and the person with dementia. There are many techniques that can be learnt to assist the person with dementia understand others, as well as express their needs and wants.
A Speech Pathologist is your first port of call.
To find a Speech Pathologist in Your Area, go to the National Health Services website and click on "More Services", then type in "Speech Therapist", and then further down the page, the postcode or area you want e.g. "Gold Coast". A list of names will appear.
For more information, contact the Speech Pathology department at Alzheimer's Queensland on (07) 3422 3000 or email: [email protected].
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The role of speech pathology in aged care
Last Updated at October 7th 2021
Speech pathology is becoming more important in aged care facilities and aged care related services to help individuals who have difficulty speaking, listening, understanding language, reading and writing, social skills and issues swallowing food and drink safely.Key points:
- Speech pathologists can assist older people in aged care to have a better quality of life
- Swallowing and eating problems can impact aged care residents and speech pathology can be used to overcome this
- A majority of older residents in aged care experience some sort of communication difficulties
Speech pathologists can help with many conditions that affect older people, like dysphagia, aphasia, or communication issues. [Source: Shutterstock]Older people sometimes lose their communication abilities when they develop dementia, if they have increasing hearing loss, a disability in some form, or experience a stroke or brain injury.
Speech pathology is also used to treat dysphagia - losing the ability to swallow food and drink - which is a common side effect of dementia and Parkinson’s disease in residents at aged care facilities.
Speech pathologist
Speech pathologists are able to provide a service to help improve the quality of life of a person that has developed a swallowing issue or communication problem. For people that develop communication issues, whether over time or through an illness, a speech pathologist can provide an assessment and therapy to the individual.
The professional would also be able to create strategies to get around problems when communication is necessary. This can include making signs for people with communication difficulties, ensuring the environment allows for good communication like face to face conversation in quiet areas, or recognising non-verbal conversation cues.
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and your Hearing!!!
Audio description services set to go live in July for ABC and SBS
The Australian Broadcasting Company (ABC) and the Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) have been given $2 million of Federal Government funding to provide Audio Description (AD) services from 1 July 2020.
Audio Description is a service that assists blind or vision impaired people to enjoy content such as television, theatre, or movies and provides verbal commentary to a program. It describes essential visual elements within the soundtrack of the program and explains things like settings, backgrounds, costumes, and actions.
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Mental health Prior to reading this section, we recommend being familiar with the following sections:
Deaf culture Hard of hearing Communication Mental health | Barriers to access | Assessment considerations | Mental State Examination | Therapy considerations
At a minimum, Deaf people experience a prevalence of mental illness equal to that of the hearing population with some evidence suggesting children with hearing loss are one and a half to two times more vulnerable to mental health problems compared to hearing children. However, there continues to be a lack of psychiatric/mental health specialists and facilities that specialise in the needs of people who are Deaf or hard of hearing. Even for clinicians who are experienced in the area of deafness, an interview or assessment can be extremely challenging, and can potentially result in poor outcomes for the consumer, their family and community, as well as the service itself.
Quick facts Barriers to access Deaf and hard of hearing people experience a range of barriers to accessing mental health services, including:
difficulties arranging an appointment
difficulties communicating with the clinician
issues with interpreters
mental health care education and information not being provided in an accessible format for Deaf and hard of hearing people
mental illness being highly stigmatised in the community
types of therapy being inaccessible, including group therapy, due to issues with communication.
Clinicians experience a range of barriers to providing accessible mental health service, including:
lacking awareness, training and experience with deafness related issues
the lack of research available on mental health interventions and outcomes for Deaf and hard of hearing people
the diagnostic and treatment process being complicated by linguistic and cultural differences
having to make use of inappropriate assessments that:
o have not been normed on, or adequately translated for, Deaf people,
o assume or require certain level of English comprehension and knowledge of vocabulary
o use phrasing of items that assume ‘hearingness’.
Mental State Examination - see Page 28. https://metrosouth.health.qld.gov.au/sites/default/files/content/deafness_and_mental_health_guidelines.pdf
Quick Facts - from Page 42.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2-6F2zOk30
Your Ears Can Indicate Your Health: Don't Ignore These 8 Factors
It is a normal hygienic procedure to clean our ears once every few days. However, not all of us know that ear wax can also indicate the state of our health. With the help of a Q-tip, you can check the color of your ear wax and understand what it means.
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Renowned Australian broadcaster Phillip Adams discusses hearing loss and its treatment with Blamey Saunders hearing aids and self-fitting system
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8yRe8rmk6_w&feature=youtu.be
Smart and selective.
Focus on what you want to hear thanks to clever microphone technology that isolates speech and reduces distracting background noise.
Detail oriented. You'll find sound rich and clear because it's filtered through 96 output channels.
The control is in your hands. You can make adjustments with our award-winning IHearYou® system on your smartphone, tablet or Windows computer.
You're never on your own.
We can connect with you remotely for instant advice and support. All you need is a phone or a strong internet connection.
The "core" contains your settings. The "module" powers the core with a rechargeable battery.
Activate Facett by holding the core and module close together. Watch them connect in an instant.
https://www.facett.com.au/
The stunning jewel-like design does well to remove the stigma of hearing aids by drawing parallels to jewellery and wearable art.
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Australian Hearing has launched a free service to support people with hearing loss and address related social isolation and communication issues.
Hearing Help, was established to help Australians affected by hearing loss find advice and support.
The service also aims to reduce the need to physically visit a GP or ear nose and throat specialist for initial hearing advice by allowing users to speak with a hearing specialist from their own home, free of charge.
Gina Mavrias, chief operating officer at Australian Hearing, said users can browse the website for resources, ask for help through online chat, or pick up the phone to chat directly with a hearing specialist.
Chat live online – 1800 740 301 AEST
Mon to Fri from 9am - 7pm AEST
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Understanding your hearing loss:
You can lose your hearing for many reasons. It could be the result of an infection, a problem with the inner or outer ear, or it may be a neural problem or even genetic. By talking to a specialist, you can find out more about your type of hearing loss. You can then discover where the problems are, such as why you have difficulty in hearing female voices, or why you hear sounds but don’t understand them, and can give you strategies to help.
Hearing aids:
One size does not fit all. Although there are many different hearing aid advertisements, and family members and friends may inform you of ‘better’ hearing aids, they may not be suitable for your type of hearing loss. Counselling and information prior to the fitting of devices is imperative if you are to get the best from your hearing aid. An explanation of the benefits, and limitations, of hearing aids will give you realistic expectations and help you adjust to wearing it.
Take the time to sit with your specialist and read the information. A good audiologist will also give you information about care for your aid, how to troubleshoot problems and encourage you to ask questions.
Hearing rehabilitation:
When a person injures a leg or arm, they often have rehabilitation to help them use it again. Hearing loss is no different. You need to learn new strategies to help you with hearing and communication. You may find when you start wearing your aid, you are bombarded with sounds – remember, you’ve been living in a very quiet world and suddenly hearing a lot of sounds will take some adjusting to. A specialist will help you work through this and give you techniques and tips to help you learn new listening habits. For instance, you may find it easier to wear the hearing aid for just a couple of hours a day at home before you venture out into a more social environment.
Other devices:
There are some situations where a hearing aid isn’t the best device, but there are other aids available.
These include:
- Bluetooth,
- telecoils,
- TV listening devices,
- microphones and telephone amplifiers.
When you are fitted with hearing aids, you should be made aware of these other options which will help enhance your hearing experience.
What is Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC)?
AAC stands for Augmentative and Alternative Communication. This term describes various
methods of communication and may include:
- High-tech speech generating devices
- Low-tech communication boards/books
- High-tech single and multi-message
- communication aids
- Low-tech symbols
- Unaided systems e.g. signing
more at:
https://lifetec.org.au/services/augmentative-and-alternative-communication-service
24 May 2019