Revitalising the elderly person
Many people, on retiring, lose interest in the things of life on account of the abrupt change of rhythm in the daily routine. The problem is, says Tomatis, that we may retire but our brain cannot and must not; it must be continually stimulated by activities, interests, novelties. The sessions with the Electronic Ear are of great help in this case.
Among the problems that touch the elderly person, those concerning the ear are far more important than one might think. The ear comes to be touched in the first place because it plays an absolutely decisive role. It is, in fact, thanks to it that we integrate language. Language means knowledge, the assimilation of the external world through a brain destined to store up memories. And, in order to pass from the external world to the brain, the information must have neither brakes nor barriers. It is important, therefore, that ear and brain should work constantly so as to maintain the vigilance and attention necessary to capture and to remember what happens and what is said around us.
An ear that functioned well and that suddenly no longer strains itself to listen — as, for example, at the moment of the beginning of retirement — risks losing its functions. The muscles of the middle ear, which permit the accommodation and the focusing of sounds, relax. A deafness in the high sounds may appear. One of the consequences is that the subject holds himself less upright; he is less dynamic, he has less energy, and he feels that his memory does not work as he would wish. It is true that there exist deafnesses that are due to degeneration, as well as vertigo and tinnitus, and that some people age more quickly than others. If, however, the person leads a healthy life, without toxic products and foods that may affect the health of the ear, in many cases the deafness of the elderly seems to be merely functional, and the person may draw benefit from a course with the Electronic Ear. Many elderly people, in fact, rather than being deaf, suffer from poor listening. They hear, but they no longer understand what is said to them. When they try to speak, they do not know what word to use. They have lost the encoding that responds to the auditory range that touches the zone of memory in the temporal area. They are as if disconnected. When, by chance, the word arrives, the idea has already gone away.
When a person no longer makes his ear work, the musculature of the middle ear relaxes, as happens to one who has had a limb in plaster for a long time and has not subsequently applied himself to walking again. The musculature is there, but it has relaxed and has lost the habit of functioning.
With a good re-education, one sees these elements set themselves in motion again. The person resumes listening. He becomes more dynamic, he has the desire to speak. Above all, he is more toned in posture, and the time of sleep is reduced. This happens because his ear has resumed its function of cortical recharge. The general tone reappears, the person feels better, but above all, he strains his ear. He does not hear better in the audiometric sense of the term, but he listens, nonetheless, far better than before, making the best use of the hearing he has at his disposal to do so.
Ear and brain must be stimulated permanently, inasmuch as they are the bases of our vitality. Tomatis was fond of saying that one is the age of one's own ear.
A good way to keep ear and brain toned in advanced age is to be active, above all in spheres where human contact is present. Often, elderly people pass, at the moment of retirement, from an intense social life to a sudden disengagement from it, with a feeling of uselessness. A good way to stimulate directly the ear and the cerebral tone may be to read aloud for at least half an hour a day, to sing, or to produce sounds.
This kind of vocal activity may also be done with the aid of the Electronic Ear, with an even more profound effect upon the general tone and vigilance.