For your parents
Your father turns the TV up, your mother asks people to repeat on the phone. With age, hearing drops for many people, so slowly they do not notice. Here is how to spot it and talk about it.
Presbycusis is age-related hearing loss. It first affects high-pitched sounds: consonants, children’s and women’s voices. So you hear that someone is speaking without quite understanding what they say.
Untreated hearing loss isolates people: they join in conversations less and go out less. The longer you wait, the harder it is to adapt to a device, because the brain loses the habit of certain sounds. Our page on hearing loss covers the signs and causes.
Talk about situations rather than age: "you struggle on the phone" rather than "you’re going deaf". Suggest a simple online hearing test to do together, then a free hearing assessment at the centre, with no commitment.
At the centre in Les Princesses, relatives are welcome. It is even advisable: two people remember explanations better, and you can describe everyday situations.
What people ask us most.
As soon as a sign appears, at any age. After 60, a check every two years is a good habit, like for eyesight.
Don’t force it. Start with the assessment, which commits them to nothing. Today’s devices are very discreet, and a trial in everyday life often convinces better than any argument.
The price depends on the technology level, not age: per device, Essential from MAD 5,000, Comfort MAD 7,000 to 12,000, Premium from MAD 14,000. See the price list.
