Checking vision and hearing

Arrowhead

My wife is in stage 6. I’m sure she needs updated glasses and I wonder if she hears well. Are there ways to check vision and hearing for someone who doesn’t understand verbal directions? Someone who is incapable of providing feedback? Thank you, in advance, for your responses.

SusanB-dil

That's a quandary we are facing as well.  good question, Arrowhead.

I was able to google a few sites and there wasn't much help, was there...!  Since I have seen toddlers and even younger with glasses, I was thinking it might be done the same way an optometrist would test a toddler?   Maybe some way to do measurements in the eyes to check where the focus is going?

I did find the following about the most helpful - wish I could find something more concrete:

Just like they can do with very young children, optometrists can use objective measures to adjust corrective lenses. These measures do not depend on a person’s subjective perceptions (for example, recognizing the letters that are displayed in front of them). It is then possible to determine whether everything is in focus without having to ask. Think about how our cameras are able to focus on objects without our intervention.

https://info.eugeria.ca/en/how-are-eye-exams-done-for-people-with-alzheimers-or-dementia/

I'm not finding much help with audio upon google search. The last we had MIL checked, just last year, they did detect hearing loss, and she refuses any hearing aid or assistance. She will crank the volume on TV to the point it is uncomfortable, but yet, can hear normal tone at the dinner table. We've wondered if, in turning up volume, she is more attempting to 'listen' to what is being said, as opposed to just 'hearing' what is said, if that makes sense. She is stage 5.  

I found one site that had some promising information, though:   https://whentheygetolder.co.uk/health/health-issues/hearing/hearing-tests-for-older-people-and-those-with-dementia/

GothicGremlin

I wish I had good advice for you, but I don't.  I can only tell you what I did last time.

We've been able to get my sister to an optometrist within the last six months (Peggy's also stage 6), but it was kind of a bear.  Two of us managed to get her properly seated in the chair,  and the optometrist was able to correct her vision at least for progressive lenses. Honestly though, I'm not sure we ended up better than when we started, given the travel trauma for Peggy.  I'm almost to the point of not worrying so much about the glasses, but just making sure her eyes are healthy (like, no glaucoma). 

MaryG123

Besides the diagnostic issues, I’ve read that visual problems associated with dementia are often due to damage to the visual center in the brain, and not correctable.  I wonder when do we stop trying to manage hearing and vision loss.

EMCas

I've read the same about vision and hearing loss being part of the process. I was happy to read your response as I was thinking that taking mom to get new glasses and a hearing aid may be for naught.

jfkoc

There may be hearing loss as well as comprehension. When talking to your wife ...

get her attention....face her at eye level...talk slowly using just as many words as needed

GothicGremlin

You know, I probably should have mentioned that Peggy's vision was one of the first things to be affected by her Alzheimer's. It started with perception, which like MaryG says, is probably not correctable. I've read, and confirmed with Peggy, that sometimes the floor looks three dimensional to her, like if there are busy carpet patterns.  Now, I know her vision is starting to tunnel, so like jfkoc, I stand or sit right in front of Peggy when I talk to her, and I use only simple sentences. No open-ended questions either, only 'yes' or 'no'. That's helped a lot.

King Boo

You will have the best chance at a successful hearing evaluation if you can find an Audiologist who also has the equipment and skills to test children.

They will start by modifying the evaluation working from a standard adult response mode and work backwards if need, to a conditioned response.  Think Pavlov.  Very young, developmentally imature infants and children or developmentally delayed adults are accurately tested this way.

Do NOT go to a busy ENT physician office where the poor audiologist has 5-10 minutes to get results, or to a big box retail store.  They are not suited to the dementia patient.

Hearing aids can be provided with a return privilege/trial period and if successful, serve a vital function to keep your LO connected.  I have many past posts on this topic.   Good luck.

rlpete

Maybe her neurologist can help provide some direction. Is her vision problems really correctable with new glasses? My wife was diagnosed with mixed dementia. Her vision was the first thing that caused her problems. Before she was formally diagnosed, we went through various ophthalmologist and neuro-ophthalmologists but there was nothing that could be done as the problem was how her brain processed what she was seeing. 5 years later and vision is still the worst problem she has (though short term memory is getting bad). Bad depth perception, tunnel vision, inability to focus, etc. I wouldn't waste time if nothing can be improved.