Hearing Aids? Do you need them? How do you know?

Posted on June 30, 2020 by autocreate740

My Everyday Tools: Hearing Aids and Glasses

It seems odd that hearing aids are not something I focused on as a tool for assisting my “wellbeing” in a significant way. If you think about it at all, it would seem that hearing aids are just as important as glasses for reading and driving. My favorite question these days, which I have adopted from Rachel Maddow of MSNBC – “Why is that“?

Flash back to August of 2017, when I wrote a post about hearing loss, and at that time I called attention to the research, which determined that dementia ( I repeat, dementia) could be related to hearing loss. (https://livingsenior.me/2017/08/21/hearing-loss-dementia/)

Flash forward, after a recent hearing test (have you had one lately? ever had one?), my Audiologist doctor determined that I required hearing aids due to hearing loss in both ears. In addition, she was concerned because difficulty hearing raises dementia risk. There it is again: dementia and hearing loss are related.

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Senior Care and COVID19

Posted on May 20, 2020 by autocreate740

senior telemedicine The COVID19 – Pandemic has affected us all in how we will lead our lives post Coronavirus. In addition, we senior citizens are being confronted with new methods in order to manage how we live going forward. Major changes have occurred in attending to our healthcare and well-being needs physically, socially, and mentally. To protect our health, Telehealth is a solution, which allows us to see the doctor without visiting their office.

Good news for seniors is that Medicare has now expanded Telemedicine coverage and you can arrange doctor appointments until further notice, without incurring added charges. This includes chronic conditions like high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes.
FYI – The terms Telehealth and Telemedicine are being used interchangeably. These are the descriptions I found at The American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) – https://www.aafp.org/about/the-aafp/history.html
iPhone users can contact telemedicine doctors using FaceTime. Android users can use Skype. There are numerous apps, which can be utilized.

doctor-4187242_1920 Medicare Descriptions of Telehealth coverage:
https://www.medicare.gov/coverage/telehealth
https://www.medicare.gov/coverage/virtual-check-ins
https://www.medicare.gov/coverage/e-visits

https://www.everydayhealth.com/healthy-living/the-best-telemedicine-apps/ Continue reading →

A New Outlook with Meditation

Posted on April 15, 2020 by autocreate740

woman-wearing-red-hat-and-sunglasses-1729931

Photo by Nashua Volquez from Pexels

COVID19 is unsettling for us all.

As senior citizens, we find ourselves during the later years of our lives with more stress than we could have imagined in our younger years. Rather than traveling, spending time with family and friends leisurely in our “golden years”, those dreams of our lives have been replaced with anger, fear and uncertainty for ourselves and our families. The result is that our health and well-being are in jeopardy. At this point we are confronted with adjusting to new way of life, which is not what we had in mind.

life-2387831_1920 I searched the “www” for some coping mechanisms to possibly relieve our anxiety. Meditation and Mindfulness were at the top of many lists for relaxing methods to relieve all sorts of issues, and to enhance our senior citizen lives. Some things that were listed as benefits are summarized below:

♦ less stress, more happiness, longevity, younger looks.
♦ creativity, body healing, focus and motivation.
♦ willpower, better sleep, activates the happy part of your brain.

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Reference for COVID-19

Posted on March 17, 2020 by autocreate740

This month I am at my wits end to assist in any way providing guidelines for the Coronavirus. The first link will take you to the government website. New announcements about Telehealth services for senior citizens is important. You can contact your doctor’s office for guidelines on how it works.

In addition, I received two reference pdf books about COVID-19 from a family member, and I think it is worth sharing. It provides guidelines for how to care for yourself, as was understood at the time it was written. Click the links for more information.

Government Websites:
https://www.hrsa.gov/
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html

For Handbook Reference:
Corona Ebook.pdf

CoronaVirus Slide for kids.pdf

Take a look. I hope it is helpful.
Wishing you wellness.
Judith

It’s HEART Month for Love & Health

Posted on February 24, 2020 by autocreate740

February is a great time to celebrate Valentine’s Day, and being grateful for the love in our lives. It’s also Heart Awareness Month. Yes! As a Brave Heart survivor of open heart surgery of almost 25 years, this is an issue close to my heart 😊 (pun intended).

Heart disease is a complicated health challenge all over the world. However, in particular, this month I would like to call attention to the fact that heart attack symptoms for women are quite different from the ones diagnosed for men. In addition, women are often misdiagnosed in emergency rooms after the heart damage has occurred [ref: https://myheartsisters.org/2009/05/28/heart-attack-misdiagnosis-women]. Below are some of the signs women should consider when being diagnosed for heart disease. Notice there is no suggestion of heavy chest pain.

♥ Shortness of breath, ♥ Pain in one or both arms, ♥ Nausea or vomiting,
♥ Sweating, ♥ Lightheadedness, or dizziness, ♥ Unusual fatigue, ♥ Indigestion.

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Is a Good Night’s Sleep for Seniors Important?

Posted on January 10, 2020 by autocreate740

Happy New Year!

Now that the holiday furor has settled down for most of us, I would like to share with you that I often hear my senior friends discussing how much sleep they are NOT getting. Or, that they don’t NEED much sleep.

It turns out that it’s not a good thing when we are sleep deprived at any age. In his book “Why We Sleep“, neuroscientist and sleep expert, Matthew Walker, gives us a new understanding of the vital importance of sleep and dreaming. According to his research, sleep helps our ability to learn, regulates our appetite, assists with our well being and immune system. It affects our emotions, and metabolism. Walker further suggests we can utilize sleep to improve our energy levels, regulate hormones, prevent cancer, to name a few. He also says that sleep slows the effects of aging. The list is much longer than what I have shown here.
According to a blog post I read, the less senior citizens sleep, the faster their brains age. I also learned that seven hours of sleep daily was perfect for cognitive function. In addition, sleep for senior citizens is important to provide time to heal from other health related issues.

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Exercise is a Win-Win Anytime We Start

Posted on December 11, 2019 by autocreate740

If you haven’t already started your New Year’s Resolutions list for 2020, here’s a suggestion for senior citizens who are feeling guilty that they never exercised in 2019, and think it’s too late at this stage in their lives to start.

The good news for 2020 is that anytime you start exercising you will gain benefits. In last month’s post, we learned that we could gain a better night’s sleep just by taking a 30 minute walk. Also, younger folks in their 40’s, 50’s and 60’s can benefit as well. Just 150 minutes of moderate- intensity exercise a week ‘fits the bill‘. Ultimately, some exercise is better than none.
♥ Park your car a little farther away, and walk to your destination.
♥ Take the stairs more frequently.
♥ Take short breaks during the day. Continue reading →

Can walking help you sleep?

Posted on November 18, 2019 by autocreate740

Living as a senior citizen comes with various challenges. Some mornings I wake up with a pain I did not have the day before. Other mornings, I find myself feeling a little anxious about an upcoming medical test, or just plain nervousness due to “who knows what?”

On occasion, my sleep is affected by nervousness (the latter occurrences). I do find, however, that taking a 30 minute walk calms me down; makes my aches and pains more manageable, and I also sleep better during the night.

A recent study suggests that moving can enhance our sleep patterns, and, in this case, walking fits the bill. It turns out that we do not have to work out strenuously in order to gain the benefit of a good night’s sleep. Taking more steps during our monthly activity can give us better sleep quality. That’s welcome news for those of us who do not have the physical ability or time to do more intense routines.
In past posts we also learned that walking can help those of us with arthritis feel better and reduce pain.

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That annoying CPAP machine/mask

Posted on October 16, 2019 by autocreate740

This picture is somewhat of an exaggeration ♥ However, I am sure some of us feel like we are from another planet when we strap ourselves into a CPAP mask before retiring to get a ‘good night’s sleep‘. It seems rather odd that this type of discomfort can actually be good for you. So I took it upon myself to find out what the risks are associated with not using the CPAP mask, and if there are times when a little vacation from this routine is OK. Click the links for detailed information .

https://www.thecpapshop.com/blog/the-risk-of-not-using-your-cpap/

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Yoga For Pain Relief

Posted on August 8, 2019 by autocreate740

I had the fortunate experience to learn about using Yoga for pain from a public television station, and thought I would share that information with you along with some websites, which provide information on Yoga for seniors (not that you have to be one to benefit from reducing pain with Yoga methodologies).