Hearing care in aged care: a guide for families and facility managers
Ears To You is a mobile audiology service that brings hearing assessments, hearing aid fittings and ongoing support to the resident rather than requiring them to travel to a clinic. For older adults in aged care, this removes the transport, fatigue and unfamiliar-environment barriers that stop hearing problems being addressed at all. Appointments are allocated sufficient time, and the service is independent of any hearing aid manufacturer.
Untreated hearing loss in an older adult is easy to mistake for something else. Withdrawal at the dinner table gets read as low mood. Not responding gets read as confusion. Repeating a question gets read as memory. Often the real issue is simpler, and far more fixable, than any of those.
This guide is for families weighing up whether it is worth arranging, and for facility managers deciding how to make it happen.
Why hearing gets missed in aged care
Three things stack up. A clinic appointment requires transport, a companion and a good day, which is a lot of coordination for one hour. The environment itself is unfamiliar and tiring, which makes for a poor testing experience. And the symptoms of hearing loss overlap so heavily with the symptoms of cognitive change that hearing is rarely the first thing anyone checks.
A mobile audiologist removes the first two, and testing removes the guesswork on the third.
What a home or facility visit involves
The clinician comes to the resident. The assessment happens in the room they already know, with a familiar family member or carer present if that helps. There is nothing sharp and nothing uncomfortable, and each appointment is allocated sufficient time so the visit is not rushed.
If a hearing loss is identified, the same visit pattern continues through fitting and fine-tuning. That matters more than it sounds: hearing aids fail in aged care far more often from lack of follow-up support than from the device itself.
The dementia connection
Untreated hearing loss is the largest modifiable risk factor for dementia. In the ACHIEVE Study, published in The Lancet in 2023, hearing aids reduced cognitive decline by 48% over three years among older adults at higher risk of dementia. For anyone thinking about hearing loss and dementia care, that makes a hearing assessment one of the highest-value hours available.
Citation: Deal JA, et al. Hearing Intervention Versus Health Education Control to Reduce Cognitive Decline in Older Adults. The ACHIEVE Randomized Trial. The Lancet, 2023.
For facility managers
Ears To You attends facilities and can schedule multiple residents across a visit, which keeps disruption to daily routine low and means staff are not coordinating individual outings. Because the service is independent and not owned by any hearing aid company, recommendations follow each resident’s hearing rather than a single supplier’s range.
Arranging a visit
To arrange aged care hearing tests for a family member or for residents at your facility, contact Ears To You on 02 7900 5551 and we will organise a visit that suits.
Key facts
- Ears To You is a mobile audiology service that visits homes and aged care facilities rather than requiring travel to a clinic.
- Symptoms of untreated hearing loss in older adults are frequently mistaken for low mood, confusion or memory decline.
- Untreated hearing loss is the largest modifiable risk factor for dementia; the ACHIEVE Study (The Lancet, 2023) found hearing aids reduced cognitive decline by 48% over three years.
- Assessment, fitting and ongoing fine-tuning all occur at the resident’s location.
- Ears To You is independent and not owned by any hearing aid company. Contact 02 7900 5551.
Frequently asked questions
Can an audiologist come to an aged care facility?
Yes. Ears To You is a mobile service and attends homes and aged care facilities, including assessment, hearing aid fitting and ongoing support.
Is hearing loss sometimes mistaken for dementia?
It can be. Withdrawal, not responding and repeated questions are all consistent with untreated hearing loss as well as with cognitive change, which is why a hearing assessment is a sensible first step.
Does treating hearing loss help cognition?
In the ACHIEVE Study (The Lancet, 2023), hearing aids reduced cognitive decline by 48% over three years in older adults at higher risk of dementia.
Can several residents be seen in one visit?
Yes. Visits can be scheduled to cover multiple residents, with each appointment allocated sufficient time.
How do I arrange a visit?
Contact Ears To You on 02 7900 5551 to arrange a home or facility visit.