NCOA Reverse Mortgage Handbook Available

General Posted by anthony Date February 1, 2013

The National Council on Aging (NCOA) has released the 2013 version of Use Your Home to Stay at Homeã¢, the official reverse mortgage consumer booklet approved by the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD).

Use Your Home to Stay at Homeã¢ is a user-friendly guide to help older homeowners understand the pros and cons of a reverse mortgage. Federal law requires that all individuals who are considering a reverse mortgage receive unbiased counseling by a HUD-approved counseling agency and receive a copy of the NCOA guide.

Also known as Home Equity Conversion Mortgages (HECMs), reverse mortgages allow homeowners aged 62+ to convert a portion of their home equity into cash while they continue to live at home for as long as theyÛªre able. Over the past 20 years, a growing number of older homeowners have used this financial tool. Today, most borrowers use the loans for immediate needs, such as paying off their existing mortgage or other debts. About 33% want to supplement their monthly income, so they can afford to continue living independently in their own home longer.

If you are considering a reverse mortgage, grab this booklet.

Misconceptions About Sleep Patterns of Older Folks

General Posted by anthony Date February 1, 2013

According to a joint study between the University of Pittsburgh’s Sleep and Chronobiology Center (SCC) and University Center for Social and Urban Research (UCSUR), there are misconceptions about the sleep patterns and quality of sleep for older adults.
“Our findings suggest that in matters regarding sleep and sleepiness, as in many other aspects of life, most seniors today are doing better than is generally thought,” said Timothy H. Monk, Ph.D., D.Sc., the study’s lead author and professor of psychiatry at UPMC’s Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic. “The stereotype of most seniors going to bed at 8 p.m., sleeping very lightly and being unduly sleepy during the day may be quite inaccurate, suggesting that 60 really is the new 40.”

The study was supported by a grant from the National Institute on Aging and conducted over five years. It findings come from empirical self-reported data from extensive telephone interviews with nearly 1,200 retired seniors from Western Pennsylvania seniors with an over-representation of retired shift workers.åÊ

Sleep quality and daytime sleepiness levels were within normal limits, although a sizable minority did report problems. Seventy-five percent said they averaged more than 6.75 hours of sleep per night.åÊ The remainder said they slept less and experienced problems with nocturnal sleep and daytime sleepiness. Sleep-related or daytime drowsiness issues seemed to have more to do with outside influences such as overall health and medications rather than age, the investigators said.

The habitual timing of the sleep episode for this sample appeared to be mostly within the usual 11 pm to 7:30 am range, with about 7.5 hours of actual sleep within that interval being reported. There was, however, a sizable minority who broke this pattern, with 25% of the sample reporting less than 6.7 hours of sleep, and problems with nocturnal sleep and daytime sleepiness.

Researchers recommended that care should be exercised in making assumptions about the quality and timing of nocturnal sleep and the level of daytime sleepiness experienced by most seniorsÛÓthose 65 years of age or olderÛÓwhich may all be very similar to those of younger adults. It should be recognized that a sizeable minority of seniors do, however, experience problems with nocturnal sleep and daytime sleepiness.åÊ

And then there are my in-laws, Lou and Dolores, in their 80s – Jeopardy at 7. Wheel of Fortune at 7:30. One order of Criminal Minds. In bed by 9.

Patients with Diabetes More than Twice as likely to Have Hearing Impairment (VIDEO)

General Posted by anthony Date January 31, 2013

[embed_youtube”420″ height=”315″ src=”http://www.youtube.com/embed/Uu3-1ZdxOYY”]

Patients with Diabetes More than Twice as likely to Have Hearing Impairment

General Posted by anthony Date January 30, 2013

Source: McKnight’s LTC NewsPatients with diabetes are more than twice as likely to have hearing impairment than individuals without, according to a recent study accepted for publication in The Endocrine Society’s Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM).
The study’s lead author said diabetic patients should be screened for hearing impairment at an earlier age than non-diabetics. An early diagnosis could lead to reduced incidences of dementia and depression, he added.

Several recent studies investigated diabetes and hearing impairment but the results were inconsistent.
“The association of hearing impairment with diabetes is controversial, but it is believed that over time, high blood glucose levels can damage vessels in the stria vascularis and nerves diminishing the ability to hear,” said Chika Horikawa, RD, MSc, of Niigata University in Japan and lead author of the study. “In our study, we found that persons with diabetes had more than two times higher prevalence of hearing impairment than those without diabetes.”

Those affected with hearing impairment more than doubled between 1995 and 2004 the study showed. The authors noted that the finding is likely to be independent of aging or a noisy environment. Diabetes and hearing impairment was not significantly influenced by age or gender, they added.

So diabetics and those caring for diabetic patients should consider the recommendations of earlier screening.