Winter months bring on more then cold temperatures; they often bring on winter blues. Many seniors experience depression due to lack of sunshine, activities, and socializing.
Come in out of the cold into the warmth of the Comox Seniors’ Centre at 1801 Beaufort Ave in Comox. Enjoy a coffee and meal at Dei’s Cafe with friends or meet new acquaintances. Pick up Dei’s hot meals to go; ask what’s on the menu. Check out our library for a good book, DVD or puzzle. Looking for a handmade gift for someone special; our best kept secret Gift Shop is waiting for you. Become a member and participate in the many activities available. Chase those winter blues away at the Comox Seniors’ Centre.
Community News
February is Heart Health Month
High blood pressure, also known as hypertension, often goes unrecognized and untreated because there are no symptoms. Your pharmacist can help you reduce your risk for heart attack and stroke by: 1. Reviewing your medications, helping you take them as prescribed and managing potential side effects. 2. Testing your blood pressure at the pharmacy and training you on proper use of an at-home BP monitor. 3. Advising you how to maintain a healthy weight and a diet that’s low in sodium. and 4. Guiding you through a step-by-step quit-smoking plan. Learn more about how to maintain your best heart health by speaking with your Medicine Shoppe pharmacist.
I Am Not Ready Yet!
Is it time to consider Independent/Assisted Living? Ask yourself these questions – Do I find that I am often alone? Do I feel less safe in my home than I used to? Are housekeeping chores not as easy as they use to be? Am I caring for a spouse and having difficulties? Am I eating poorly? Have my eating habits changed? Do I worry about who will respond in case of an emergency? Have I mixed up medications? Would I be more comfortable if I had some supportive services available? If you answered “yes” to any of the questions above, you may be ready. Consider your present quality of life…maybe now really is the right time for you.
What are TMD Symptoms?
TMD, or temporomandibular joint disorder, is caused by the erosion of the small disc that separates your jaw bones. This can occur with overuse (often from teeth grinding) or shifting resulting from conditions like arthritis or injury. Symptoms of TMD can be quite painful and may include: clicking/popping sound or grating sensation when opening and closing your mouth or chewing; headaches and neck pain; and tenderness and pain around the jaw joint, ears, face, and temples. Your dentist can help diagnose and treat TMD, and may recommend a night guard to prevent teeth grinding, relaxation techniques, or a physiotherapist referral.
Freedom at Any Age
These days the mobility market is full of possibilities. Rather than being confined to the inside of your home or relying on friends and family to take you out, consider the freedom of a mobility scooter. Battery powered scooters have come a long way and are now more affordable and reliable than ever before. They provide the freedom to get around, they conserve physical energy, and they also provide you access to places you may not have previously been able to go. Along with the freedom, mobility scooters offer an element of safety.
Dating Someone with Hearing Loss
So your partner has a hearing loss. They struggle every day with situations that people without hearing loss can never truly understand. It can be difficult for you as the partner without a hearing loss at times too. Your loved one’s hearing loss doesn’t take away from who they are or your love for them, but it does present a unique challenge in relationships. It can cause arguments, resentment and frustration that nobody wants affecting their relationship.
We have 6 things to remember when dating someone with a hearing loss so you can support your partner the best way possible and strengthen your relationship.
Be Patient
Constantly struggling to listen and hear is exhausting for someone with a hearing loss. It requires a lot of extra energy and effort that can wear them down. Certain environments are more difficult for your partner such as a noisy restaurant with multiple voices and sounds or a dark place where they can’t read your lips. Each situation brings a challenge and it’s important to be patient.
Remember, they are doing their best. Even with hearing aids and lip-reading techniques, it isn’t always enough. They understand and recognize your frustration because they’ve likely dealt with it throughout their whole life. But, as a hearing person, your experience is very different from theirs. Be compassionate and patient as they are trying.
Communicate Clearly
People with hearing loss struggle to hear clearly and it can be annoying for both parties involved in conversations. Mumbling is the common perpetrator of poor communication. Make sure you are speaking clearly, enunciating and directly facing them to make it easier for your partner to hear you. With these practices, they can read your lips and their hearing aids will pick up speech better.
Be Willing to Repeat Yourself
As irritating as it is when you have to repeat yourself for the third time because your partner can’t hear what you are saying, remind yourself that it isn’t their fault. They can sense your frustration and once you start refusing to repeat yourself saying, “nevermind, it wasn’t important,” it will hurt their feelings. It’s incredibly discouraging for your partner because it is important for them and they’re doing their best.
Your partner genuinely cares to know what you said and wants to carry on the conversation. Remember, it isn’t their fault and it’s upsetting for them too. Negative reactions remind them that they’re different and may make them feel unworthy or less than. By staying positive, calmly repeating yourself as many times as necessary and understanding their position, you can avoid hurt feelings, resentment and fights.
Ask Questions
Don’t be afraid to be curious and ask questions. It shows you care and want to learn more about your partner’s experience. Ask about their hearing loss to learn more, work together and be open to finding new ways to improve your communication. It may be an adjustment at first, but your partner will appreciate the effort and it will make a difference in your day-to-day lives.
Help Them Understand, Not Just Hear
It’s easy to hear sounds or words, but to truly understand them is a bit more difficult. Processing words is harder for someone with a hearing loss because their brain and ears don’t function together the same way as someone without a hearing loss.
Your partner may ask you to speak louder, slower or face-to-face so they can understand. It’s common to become annoyed when it frequently happens, but it’s important to remember that all your partner wants is to hear what you said and talk to you. If they didn’t care, you would know.
Don’t Baby Them
Babying your partner looks like a number of things. It can be telling new people about their condition, speaking for them, not inviting them places because it will be hard for them to hear, or treating them as though they can’t deal with it on their own. For you, it comes from a good place, but for your partner, it’s usually a sensitive situation. People with hearing loss are usually used to feeling like outsiders so they try to be as normal as possible. They want to do the same things as others, have the same opportunities and be independent.
It’s worth noting that each person has different boundaries when it comes to hearing loss. What is acceptable for one person might not be for another. Allowing them to advocate for themselves and starting the conversation about it will define boundaries so you know when it’s okay to step in and help.
If you’re concerned about hearing loss affecting you or your partner, choose the NexGen Hearing clinic nearest you to book your no obligation hearing assessment
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Happy (and HEALTHY) New Year!
Happy 2022! Let’s make this our healthiest year yet! If you feel overwhelmed with where to start, it turns out even small daily adjustments can have a surprisingly big impact on your health! Here are a few ways you can help yourself feel good and age well: Eat more nutrient-dense foods. You need fewer calories with aging, but twice as many nutrients. Get active. Indoor walking, swimming, and doing yoga are all great activities to ease yourself into. Stay connected and make new friends. Social engagement and participation are especially important for older adults. These are linked to better cognition and overall health, and lower risk of depression and disability.
Help Parents Stay Independent
Help Parents Stay Independent
It’s common for seniors to lose some independence due to health problems or mobility issues. Mobility scooters can help! No matter where your parents live, a mobility scooter can allow them to gain a sense of independence by enabling them to get out of the house more. Since mobility scooters are powered by an electric motor and simply need a charge after use, your parents just have to sit back and relax while getting to wherever they’d like to be. Some models are portable, making them easier to transport if taking people out and about in a car is important.
Volunteers Needed
The vital component of most of our programs at CV Senior Support are volunteers! While staff coordinate the pieces to make programs work, it is our incredible volunteers who venture into the community and provide the supports many of our clients depend upon.
Volunteering at Comox Valley Senior Support can range from a weekly phone call or in person visit to grocery shopping or assisting seniors to fill out forms and find resources. Volunteers are provided with training and support and opportunities for ongoing education.
As our volunteers retire, we need to replace them! If you have an interest in supporting seniors in your community, please contact the office at admin@comoxvalleyseniorsupprt.ca or 250-871-5940 to find out more.
Did You Know?
• Peter Mark Roget published the first edition of Roget’s Thesaurus at 73 and oversaw every update until he passed away at 90.
• Grandma Moses began painting art at age 76 and painted almost daily until her death at age 101.
• Nelson Mandela was elected President of South Africa at 76.
• Laura Ingalls Wilder’s first book in the “Little House on the Prairie” series was published when she was 64.
• When Harriette Thompson ran in her fifteenth marathon, the Suja Rock ‘n’ Roll San Diego Marathon, in 2014 she was 91.
• In 2018, at 95, Chau Thi Vo of Vaughan, Ontario, a prominent advocate for seniors in the Vietnamese community, was representing the Golden Age Village for the Elderly at fundraiser events and accompanying the Village’s board of directors to meetings with local politicians. She was also knitting hats and scarves for the homeless and leading charity efforts for disaster relief funds.
It’s Time to Quit Smoking!
Thinking about some resolutions for the New Year? Quitting smoking may be the most important change you can make to improve your health. There are numerous immediate benefits to quitting smoking including reducing your blood pressure and heart rate, improving your sense of taste and smell, and improving your circulation making it easier to exercise. With every year that you are smoke free, your risk of stroke and lung cancer decreases. After 15 years, your risk of a heart attack is the same as someone who has never smoked. (source: www.quitnow.ca). Talk to your healthcare professional today about quitting. It’s never too late!
