Aging Stereotypes

The common stereotype that I have expressed about the elderly have to due with Stubbornness. At the moment, I work at call center where I troubleshoot a variety of different cable issues. When I get an older customer on the line I treat them as I would any other customer. However, as soon as I start to talk I often am told "Can you speak louder, your voice is very soft." I try to be understanding because I know that hearing does decline with age and is not their fault, but the only problem I have is that I am blamed for haoicving a 'soft ve'. This is probably attributed to hearing loss being seen as an unwanted sign of old age in our society, but even so the truth of the matter is it makes the phone call more stressful for me and possibly for them as well. The call will usually end with either a quick fix, but at times the customer is unwilling to troubleshoot with me because of physical limitation (e.g. recent surgery, disability), lack of understanding the instructions, or the reason " I am too old to be doing this". Another stereotype that I am guilty of having is that elderly individuals have to repeat their opinions or dislike repeatedly. Psychologically I feel this might tie into the reduction in hearing and the need to make their point clear. When I am talking to an elderly person it makes me feel like they feel I am not competent enough to understand their question or statement. Some of the stereotypes are true, such as hearing lose but the personality that comes along is based on their individual perception of thinking. I know that all elderly people do not display these traits because I have dealt with very nice elderly people who hear fine, but it is hard to not think of stereotypes when approaching situations with elders. In some ways people use stereotyping as a precaution in how to handle certain people and the situations that may arise. I hope that this class will help me let go of certain predisposed views of the elderly and treat person I encounter as an individual with their own ideas, thoughts, behaviors, and medical issues that are not associated with age.