Abby: Wife trying to cope with husband's hearing loss
Posted by CENTURY HEARING
Source: http://www.sunherald.com
EAR ABBY: My husband, "Norm," has become profoundly deaf. He has a cochlear implant in one ear and a hearing aid in the other; neither has helped much. He has extreme difficulty with speech recognition. We can talk together in the quiet of our home as long as I sit right next to him and speak slowly.
Norm's hearing loss has affected us as a couple. We no longer have a social life. When Norm and I are out together, we become "invisible" to other couples. It's just too much work for anyone to communicate with us.
We are about to move to a retirement community where one meal a day is included in the dining room. I'm worried about how we will navigate the social aspects of eating with others, who will rapidly decide they don't want to eat with us again because of the difficulty of trying to chat with Norm.
Norm is well aware of this problem. He has proposed that he eat alone in our apartment while I go to the dining room and meet people, unencumbered by his impairment. Can you advise? -- Trapped in a Situation
DEAR TRAPPED: Before moving into the retirement community, make a point of discussing your husband's severe hearing impairment with the director, the nurse and/or their medical adviser because they need to be made aware of your husband's special needs in order to be able to accommodate him, if it's possible.
Read more here: http://www.sunherald.com/2014/12/07/5956725/abby-wife-trying-to-cope-with.html#storylink=cpy
EAR ABBY: My husband, "Norm," has become profoundly deaf. He has a cochlear implant in one ear and a hearing aid in the other; neither has helped much. He has extreme difficulty with speech recognition. We can talk together in the quiet of our home as long as I sit right next to him and speak slowly.
Norm's hearing loss has affected us as a couple. We no longer have a social life. When Norm and I are out together, we become "invisible" to other couples. It's just too much work for anyone to communicate with us.
We are about to move to a retirement community where one meal a day is included in the dining room. I'm worried about how we will navigate the social aspects of eating with others, who will rapidly decide they don't want to eat with us again because of the difficulty of trying to chat with Norm.
Norm is well aware of this problem. He has proposed that he eat alone in our apartment while I go to the dining room and meet people, unencumbered by his impairment. Can you advise? -- Trapped in a Situation
DEAR TRAPPED: Before moving into the retirement community, make a point of discussing your husband's severe hearing impairment with the director, the nurse and/or their medical adviser because they need to be made aware of your husband's special needs in order to be able to accommodate him, if it's possible.
Read more here: http://www.sunherald.com/2014/12/07/5956725/abby-wife-trying-to-cope-with.html#storylink=cpy
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