Mom has been hard of hearing for years, and she has never been a good listener, but lately it's been a little different. Sometimes her responses are incoherent. Sometimes I'll say something and she'll stare blankly at me as if I just asked her "What's 371 divided by 13?" before responding. Sometimes I'll speak at a normal tone of voice and she'll understand from across the room. A while ago I was sitting across the table and said, in a normal tone of voice, "Take your pills, Mom," and it was as if I didn't say anything. I know her hearing isn't that bad. (And she has no problem with taking her pills.)
Is it possible for cognitive decline to cause hearing loss or comprehension problems that seem like hearing loss? Is there a way I can test this through observation?
Not sure if you can "test" it. One day she could be with it and the next day not. One moment she could be with it the next ...
Dementia is a progressive Disease. My Mom had changes every month. Some decline faster than others.
I am partly deaf since I was a baby due to my cerebral palsy. I can hear voices, but I need to read lips to understand the subjects. Even though I wear hearing aids, I don’t like using the phone because of my hearing loss.
Get your mom's attention before you speak. I find that elderly people who have dementia, with hearing difficulties or not, have a very low attention span to grasp the conversation.
Of course not every person who has dementia has hearing loss.
John Hopkins Dr Frank Lin says your odds increase of developing dementia with the degree of hearing loss. This from a 12 year study.
https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/healthy_aging/healthy_body/the-hidden-risks-of-hearing-loss
My own DH is a brilliant man--like genius level smart, but to talk to him (or try to, I should say) you;d think he was "slow". He cannot hear, so by the time the original comment or question has been posed, you get the feeling he's not "all there".
I have heard and read that deafness can cause neural decline--you don't hear, you stop thinking and you don't "get" all of what is being said.
My kids all think dad is showing signs of dementia. He's not. He just can't hear.
Please don't assume that she has dementia, it will cause frustration for everyone because the real problem is being dismissed, if there is a problem.
Sometimes I don't hear everything because my head is stuffy or there is back ground noise that is interfering, I have no hearing loss, been checked by both the above to rule out treatable issues.
Good luck getting to the bottom of this.