If you have noticed a parent asking people to repeat themselves, turning up the television, struggling in restaurants, or becoming quieter during family conversations, you may be wondering how to bring up their hearing without making them uncomfortable.
The best place to start is not by trying to convince them that they need hearing aids. Start by talking about what you have noticed and asking how they feel about their hearing.
Hearing changes become increasingly common with age, but they can be difficult to recognize when they develop gradually. A hearing test can provide answers without committing your parent to hearing aids or any particular treatment.
How Common Is Hearing Loss as We Age?
Hearing changes are extremely common in later life.
Statistics Canada reported that 13.6% of Canadians aged 65 and older had a hearing disability in 2022, compared with 5.4% of people aged 45–64. More than 1.6 million Canadians aged 15 and older reported a hearing disability overall.
However, self-reported disability does not capture everyone with measurable hearing changes. An earlier Statistics Canada analysis using audiometric hearing tests found that 93% of Canadians aged 70–79 had at least mild hearing loss in the high-frequency range, compared with 38% of those aged 40–59.
That difference is important. Hearing loss often develops gradually, and someone may not immediately recognize how much their hearing has changed.
Source: Statistics Canada, “Hearing disabilities, 2022,” March 3, 2025.
View Statistics Canada data
Source: Statistics Canada, “Hearing loss in Canadian adults,” August 21, 2019.
View the Statistics Canada study
Why Is Maintaining Your Hearing Important as You Age?
Hearing is about much more than volume. It supports communication, social participation, independence, and our ability to stay connected with other people.
The World Health Organization reports that unaddressed hearing loss can affect communication and is associated with social isolation, loneliness, reduced quality of life, cognitive decline, and other challenges. WHO recommends identifying and addressing hearing loss as early as possible to help reduce its impact.
These associations need to be communicated carefully. Hearing loss does not mean someone will develop dementia or become socially isolated, and hearing aids should not be presented as a guaranteed way to prevent those outcomes.
The practical reason to look after hearing health is simpler: hearing helps us communicate, participate, and remain engaged in everyday life.
Source: World Health Organization, “Deafness and hearing loss,” March 3, 2026.
Read the WHO fact sheet
Why Might a Parent Be Reluctant to Have Their Hearing Checked?
What looks like resistance may actually be uncertainty.
Your parent may feel that their hearing is not bad enough to require attention. They may be concerned about cost, appearance, technology, or what a hearing test might reveal. Someone who remembers older hearing aids may also have an outdated idea of what current devices look and sound like.
Cost is a particularly legitimate concern. Statistics Canada reported that 23% of Canadians with a hearing disability needed a hearing aid but did not have one in 2022. Among that group, 72% cited cost as a reason.
Instead of dismissing those concerns, ask about them.
You may discover that your parent is not opposed to improving their hearing. They simply have questions that have not yet been answered.
How Should You Talk to a Parent About Their Hearing?
Choose a quiet, private moment rather than raising the issue immediately after a frustrating misunderstanding.
Focus on what you have observed instead of telling them what is wrong with them.
You might say:
“I’ve noticed restaurants seem to be making conversations harder lately. Have you noticed that too?”
Or:
“Sometimes it seems difficult to follow everyone when we’re together. Would you be open to having your hearing checked?”
This gives your parent an opportunity to describe their own experience.
Avoid turning the conversation into a list of everything they have missed or misunderstood. The objective is to make it easier for them to explore their hearing, not to prove that you are right.
Focus on What Better Hearing Could Mean for Them
Hearing care is most meaningful when it connects to the person’s actual life.
Instead of focusing exclusively on hearing loss, talk about the situations that matter to your parent.
Perhaps they want to understand their grandchildren more easily. Maybe they miss following conversations at family dinners, watching television comfortably with someone else, participating in community activities, or hearing clearly during appointments.
WHO identifies hearing as important for communication, social participation, and independence among older people.
The conversation becomes very different when the question changes from “Why won’t you wear hearing aids?” to “What would you like to hear more easily?”
Start With a Hearing Test, Not Hearing Aids
One of the easiest ways to reduce pressure is to separate a hearing assessment from the decision to purchase hearing aids.
A hearing test is simply a way to understand what someone is hearing.
It can determine whether hearing has changed, which frequencies are affected, and how those changes may relate to everyday communication difficulties. The results can then be explained so your parent understands the options available.
If hearing aids are appropriate, they can be discussed. If another issue needs attention, the hearing assessment may help identify the need for further evaluation.
Your parent remains part of every decision.
What If Your Parent Is Worried About Hearing Aids?
Ask what specifically concerns them.
If appearance is the issue, today’s hearing aids are available in a variety of styles and sizes. If technology feels intimidating, hearing care professionals can demonstrate how the devices work and provide ongoing support.
If cost is the concern, ask the clinic to explain pricing and available options clearly before making assumptions about what is affordable.
And if your parent says, “Hearing aids won’t help me,” that is another reason to begin with an assessment. Hearing aids are not appropriate for every hearing problem, and their potential benefit depends on the person’s individual hearing.
The goal should be an informed recommendation rather than promising a particular outcome.
Offer Support Without Taking Over
The process can feel much easier when someone familiar is there to help.
You can offer to help book the hearing test, drive to the appointment, attend the consultation, or write down questions beforehand.
Having a family member at the appointment can also provide useful context. Your parent may describe situations they find difficult, while you may have noticed other communication changes at home.
But keep your parent at the centre of the conversation. It is their hearing and their decision.
What If They Still Don’t Want a Hearing Test?
You may need to give them time.
Repeatedly raising the issue can make someone more defensive, particularly if every family gathering becomes another discussion about their hearing.
Keep communication open and continue making conversations easier in the meantime. Face the person when speaking, reduce background noise where possible, get their attention before starting a conversation, and speak clearly rather than shouting. WHO recommends these types of communication strategies for family members and caregivers of people experiencing hearing loss.
You can return to the subject later, particularly if your parent begins noticing the same difficulties themselves.
Hearing Health Is Part of Healthy Aging
Looking after your hearing should be viewed much like looking after your vision, mobility, or other aspects of health as you get older.
Hearing loss becomes more common with age, and maintaining good communication can help people continue participating in the relationships and activities that matter to them. WHO describes hearing as an important component of healthy ageing because of its role in communication, social participation, and independence.
If you are concerned about a parent’s hearing, you do not need to diagnose the problem or persuade them to buy hearing aids.
You can simply help them take the first step toward understanding what is happening.
Helping Your Parent Take the First Step at Melody Hearing Clinic
At Melody Hearing Clinic, our registered hearing aid practitioners understand that discussing hearing changes can feel personal.
We start by listening. A hearing assessment can help your parent understand their current hearing and provide an opportunity to ask questions without pressure.
If hearing aids or another hearing solution may be appropriate, we can explain the options and help your parent make a decision based on their hearing needs, lifestyle, and priorities.
With eight hearing clinics across Alberta, Melody Hearing Clinic provides ongoing hearing care and support for individuals and their families.
Sometimes the most helpful thing you can say to a parent isn’t “You need hearing aids.”
It’s “Would you like me to come with you and get your hearing checked?”