Shopping Strategies for Those with Hearing Loss

When younger, did your loved one always love to go shopping? Maybe she found it a fun hobby or even just a good way to get out, get moving, and explore her community. But now that she has hearing loss, you may have noticed that she doesn’t like to shop as much. She may put off going to the grocery store until she’s completely run out of all of her food, or she might be requesting that her elder care provider do all the shopping for her. And while having an elder care provider do the shopping is a great help, your loved one may still find times when she’s going to need to go shopping herself.

Hearing loss can make it difficult to manage the constant noise in stores, ask questions (and hear the answers), or hear what’s being said on the overhead speakers, that honestly, no one can understand anyway. Hearing loss can take an activity that your loved one used to enjoy and make it a stressful situation.

To reduce the stress of shopping with hearing loss, here are some strategies she can use before she goes out and while she’s in the store.

Shop in small shops

Small businesses often provide more one-on-one help, as well as having smaller spaces that don’t get overwhelmed with lots of loud conversations, noisy air circulation fans, and echoing footsteps. Shopping in smaller shops can also provide the people connections that your loved one may be missing.

Shop during less busy times

To help reduce the noise and the chaos during busy hours (such as after standard work hours or during lunch hours), your loved one might want to consider hitting up the stores right away when they open or in the middle of the workday.

Bring a friend

Instead of sending her elder care provider to the store for her, she might consider going with her so that she can still enjoy perusing those clearance racks, strolling the aisles, and maybe finding an unexpected item that she just must have. Her elder care provider can help her with any hearing struggles she may have while she’s shopping.

Use self-checkout lanes

If your loved one knows exactly what she wants and has a smaller purchase, she might consider using self-checkout lanes so that she doesn’t have to strain herself to hear what the cashier is trying to talk to her about. Self-checkout lanes can be a bit confusing at first, so have her elder care provider go with her the first couple of times to make her comfortable with using them.

Bring a pad of paper and a pen

It doesn’t hurt to ask people to write down what they are telling your loved one, especially if they are using words that she doesn’t normally recognize like the name of a specialty shop or a street name that she needs to turn on to get to the next shop. Your loved one can simply explain it’ll help her remember and know the correct spelling if the person writes it down.

Hopefully by using a few of these strategies, your loved one can get out and enjoy shopping once again.

If you or an aging loved one is considering elder care in Manteca, CA, please contact the caring staff at Provident Care Home Care today at (209) 578-1210.