Deaf Elderly Misdiagnosed with Dementia

By Kirsten Houmann, Ivanhoe Health Correspondent

ORLANDO, Fla. (Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Elderly deaf adults may score lower on mental health tests because of a language translation issue, new research shows.

David Feldman, Ph.D., a licensed psychologist and assistant professor of psychology at Macon State College in Macon, Ga., and colleagues looked at scores on the nationally used Mini Mental Status Exam. The exam is given by doctors to detect early signs of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.

The researchers found deaf patients scored an average of 3 to 5 percent lower on the exam. They then examined the types of questions that brought down the scores of deaf patients. The investigators found those questions used complex language and language hard to translate into sign language.

“One of the reasons was, it’s language or communication issues rather than a cognitive impairment issue,” Dr. Feldman told Ivanhoe.

Dr. Feldman stresses the importance of hiring an experienced sign language interpreter, especially when seeing a health care provider or counselor.

“One of the problems is that when an older deaf adult is being tested by somebody, they’re automatically going to look like they’re demented even though they’re not -- and they’re going to look like [that] because of a language issue,” he said.

Since most of sign language involves body language, it’s easy to misinterpret what is being said, Dr. Feldman explained.

“There are a lot of people that think they can interpret because they know a couple signs, and you really have to be careful of that,” Dr. Feldman said. “There are a lot more nuances than if you are just translating from Spanish to English.”

The Gallaudet Research Institute estimates 29 percent of those over 65 are hard of hearing or deaf.

SOURCE: Ivanhoe interview with David Feldman, Ph.D.; presented at the 2008 Florida Conference on Aging, Aug. 10-14, 2008

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