A museum in New Zealand has put online 47 aerial images, taken in 1938, of a Pacific island where Amelia Earhart may have landed. More on that at the end.
In this issue (a 5-minute read):
Hearing aids and a longer life
Help for a family member who lives far away
A man who is 100 and still climbs three flights
A scam to watch for before the election
Help with heating bills
Your money dates
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The Big Story
People who wear hearing aids were a little less likely to die in a big study
People who used hearing aids were somewhat less likely to die during the study, after the researchers allowed for age, smoking, heart disease and other factors. That is the finding from a new analysis of 13,851 adults, published October 13 in The Lancet Healthy Longevity.
The gap was small: about 9 percent lower risk of death from any cause. The true gap might be smaller, or larger.
What it does not show. It shows a link, not a cause. A study like this can't rule out other differences between people who get hearing aids and people who don't. The authors say it needs more research. Most of the people were signed up in the late 1990s and 2000s, and their average age was about 62.
What to do with it. A hearing test is a sensible first step. Medicare Part B covers a diagnostic hearing exam when a doctor orders it (you pay 20 percent). Original Medicare does not pay for hearing aids or the exam to fit them, so you pay all of that. Some Medicare Advantage plans do include a hearing benefit, so if you are comparing plans before December 7, ask each one. Since 2022, hearing aids for mild to moderate hearing loss can also be bought over the counter, with no prescription.
Do this (for you, or your mom):
Think back: when was the last hearing check? If you can't say, book a test.
If you have a Medicare Advantage plan, call the number on your card and ask what it covers for hearing.
Daughters: ask your mom these two questions this week.
FOR THE DAUGHTER
A professional who runs the care when you can't be there
If your parent needs help and you live far away, there is a job for that: an aging life care manager. Most started as nurses or social workers. They don't give hands-on care. They arrange it. They are worth a call after a fall or a hospital stay, or when you can't tell what your parent needs.
KFF Health News says they can set up and oversee a move to senior living, deal with insurers, recommend elder-law lawyers and specialists, and check in weekly or monthly and tell the family if something is wrong.
What it costs. The Aging Life Care Association's CEO told KFF that members charge $150 to $350 an hour, depending on where you live. One practice in Texas charges $185 an hour, and one in Washington, D.C., $210. A page on the association's website says the fees are not covered by Medicare, Medicaid or most health insurance. Some city social-service agencies charge on a sliding scale.
Do this:
Search the association's directory by your parent's ZIP code.
Ask each person what they charge per hour, and what training and certification they hold.
Ask for a first call before you commit.
SOMEONE WORTH KNOWING
Jim Choyke, 100
Jim Choyke turned 100 in July, and he still has an office at the University of Pittsburgh, where he is an emeritus professor of physics and astronomy. He climbs three flights of stairs to reach it, with a cane, and he still drives. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that he has no chronic illnesses and does an hour of sit-to-stand exercises from a chair every day.
"This guy's an extreme outlier, as rare as can be," says Ezekiel Emanuel, an oncologist who specializes in longevity. The paper says the Northwestern researcher who coined the word "superager" found that the people she studies have few habits in common, except that they love being around other people.
On Your Radar
Election-season scams. The FBI warned on October 15 that scammers are using the midterm election, which is Tuesday, November 3. Their tricks: fake campaign "investment pools," fake political groups that keep your donation, merchandise that never ships, and texts that say you are not registered to vote, with a link to a fake state web page.
The tell: a message you didn't ask for that wants you to click or pay. Your move: check your registration yourself at vote.gov. A campaign donation is not an investment: it won't grow, and you won't get it back.
If you use a Windows PC: one version of Windows 11, 24H2 (Home or Pro), stopped getting security updates on October 13. It still works, but it no longer gets new protection. Microsoft says to move to 25H2 or 26H2. To see your version, open Settings, then System, then About. To update, open Settings, then Windows Update.
Help with the heating bill. The first $3.6 billion of this year's federal heating-aid money (LIHEAP) went to the states on October 9. Dates and amounts are set state by state, so there is no one number. To find your state's office, call 1-866-674-6327 (weekdays, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Eastern) or search by state on the LIHEAP site.
You may not need to fast as long before blood tests. A study of about 9.8 million lab results at one hospital in Korea found that fasting longer than 12 hours made no meaningful difference to any test. The exceptions were blood sugar, triglycerides and two enzymes, which read higher after less than 8 hours without food. The authors say a fasting blood-sugar test still needs the usual 8 hours or more. And if your doctor told you to fast, fast.
YOUR MONEY DATES
Your raise: 3.6 percent, starting with your January payment. Social Security says the average retired worker will get $75 more a month, from $2,095 to $2,170.
New: if you don't have a my Social Security account yet, create one and sign up for paperless notices by November 18 to see your raise notice online in late November. If you aren't signed up for paperless notices, a paper notice also comes by mail in December.
October 28: if you keep savings bonds online at TreasuryDirect, set up the new login by then. Your old login works through that day.
November 3: Election Day.
Mid-November (if Medicare keeps last year's timing): the 2027 Part B premium. It is not out yet, and this year's is $202.90 a month. We will give you the real figure the week it comes out.
December 7: Medicare open enrollment ends.
Slice of Life
The photographs of an island
The Air Force Museum of New Zealand put 47 images from a December 1, 1938 survey flight online. The island is Nikumaroro. A leading theory says Amelia Earhart and her navigator, Fred Noonan, may have landed there after they vanished in July 1937. Investigator Ric Gillespie has called the photos a "goldmine." Nobody has proved the theory, and the negatives sat unnoticed until the museum's photograph keeper, Matthew O'Sullivan, found them more than ten years ago.
The latest: a Purdue-backed expedition checked an object in the island's lagoon, first seen in satellite images, that some hoped was Earhart's plane. The team said it was likely a pile of large trees, and that it found no conclusive evidence of the plane. The group still believes she and Noonan landed on the island.
Know someone who loves a mystery? Forward this with one line: "Look at these."
And look up. The Orionid meteors, bits of Halley's Comet, peak Wednesday night into Thursday morning, October 21 to 22. The moon will be bright until it sets, around 3 or 4 a.m., so the best time is before dawn. From a dark spot you might see 10 to 20 an hour.
THIS WEEK'S VIDEO
After 60, Let Go of These 5 Things for a Lighter Life (about 18 minutes). Five things worth setting down, with a story and one gentle step for each. The stories are illustrations, not real people.
Until next week,
The Senior Road
Last week: we asked what your raise will go to. Nobody wrote back, so no answer to report. Here is an easier one.
P.S. One word or one sentence: what is one thing you are setting down this fall? A worry, a closet, an old argument? Hit reply and tell us.
