What happens to the minds of the elderly?

After a series of undetected mini strokes, my mother also had trouble following the line of the story if it was a TV program, movie or book. The hearing problem also adds another layer to your father's dilemma. Throw in a couple of modern story line trends and changing language usage, I too lose the thread.

Try either a sound bar that can separate & enhance the sound quality or a small wireless speaker placed closer to his good ear.

You dad's brain ticks differently. Most important is that oxygen gets to the brain, movement every two hours, and fresh diet and fresh air. Walking helps with dementia patients.

He is missing a lot of the program due to hearing loss. Otherwise, it is impossible to diagnose. A lot of people don't buy hearing aids as they're not covered by insurance or won't wear them when they're needed. It has to do with not wanting to bother with an aid, such as eyeglasses or a hearing aid.

your movies and media are mental masturbation and thats giving you the benefit of doubt . stupid sht , means absolutely NOTHING .

Cinot; has your father been EVALUATED for dementia?

It sounds as though he may have some cognitive decline. Talk to his doctor about this.

Just as the body of one individual ages differently from another, so, too, the mind ages differently. There is likely a lot to do with genetic history, and perhaps some to do with jobs we held (things we inhaled for instance; more Alzheimer's dementia in central valley of California where there is a lot of crop spraying). It is all very poorly understood, and we are on the cusp of learning. In fact when I first entered nursing there was only "senility", a word that covered what we have learned is a set of MANY diseases with MANY causes, from vascular to genetic. This is a massive subject. You won't understand it, as even the experts don't, but daily they learn more, and your search engine is your friend here. Look up dementia. Read books (Oliver Sacks did wonderful easy to understand writing about our brains throughout his career). Wishing you good luck in exploration.

Loss of hearing shrinks someone's world. I believe that our brains can start losing memories because we don't challenge our brains. Everyone that I know that is elderly and sharp is also physically active and always has been.