Difficulty of Hearing Others

Almost all octogenarians would say that they cannot hear anymore and this could be one of the reasons why they do not anymore talk frequently with others.

Several of them who could afford hearing aid costing several tens of thousands of pesos abandon the use of it.

And so, what do we do? The first step is for both the seniors and the young ones to accept that loss of hearing goes with aging. Loss of hearing comes to persons at different ages of their senior years.

When the old folks tell us that they could hardly hear, we respond with kindness showing them that we understand by coming close to them speaking close to their ear. Or, we could speak closer to them where they could see our facial expression especially the shape of our mouth. We could even use our body language to convey to them our message.

For some years now as my grandchildren are growing, I find myself bending and putting my ear close to their face as they are speaking. At the start, they ask why. I explained it and now this has become a normal actuation for me.

We, seniors, just do not make a fuss about this. Our understanding family could accept it as part us.

The Seniors Need Assistance
Majority of the senior citizens grew the normal way that is, we enjoyed the long years, the several decades of feeling strong, independent, self-reliant, useful and loved.

Several feel insulted when other people offer to help them out of goodness. At this moment, sensitivity on both parties concerned could turn the occasion positive rather than otherwise. We, senior citizens could turn down the offer and go a step further by appreciating the one who offered the help. This occasion then could enable the other person to continue being helpful and maybe able to truly help those who need help. The other person should know that some senior citizens are still strong and may not appreciate others thinking they are no longer self-reliant.

For many decades, I used to do many things which other senior citizens would normally let others do to for them. Furthermore, my belief that women can do many great things too, led me to be more self-reliant, then came few happenings where to rely on others. I made quite a difficult transition. Even to tell my companion at home to do me a chore was not easy for me. Just a few weeks ago, a turning chapter happened to me. I have to use the cane for a while. My reflection of previous experiences made my acceptance for help from others easier. (Ma. Iris Melliza)