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th ei fp .c a Th e IF P -H al to n H ill s | T hu rs da y, M ay 31 ,2 01 8 | 30 ple over the age of 65 is a wide swath, with multiple genera- tions in that group. Culturally, she says there are different expectations and ideologies between people in their 60s and 80s, they've lived through massive cultural shifts in terms of the sexual revolution, acceptance of ho- mosexuality and even women's empowerment. "It's a generation that by- and large missed out on really well-developed sex-ed cam- paigns," she said. In the IFP survey, nearly 38 per cent of respondents said they would not wear a condom if engaging in sex with a new partner. She says that there are also shifts happening in regard to expectations about sexuality, and a risk of replacing the old stereotypes with new that oversexualize the aging experi- ence. She says that a large popula- tion are regularly sexually ac- tive into their 80s and 90. "Being sexually active in- cludes a whole range of sexual activities," she said. "It's not all vanilla. Older people have vag- inal intercourse, anal inter- course, oral sex, masturbation, engaging in fantasies, some- times sexual touching ... that can include a whole range of things." She says that while there is a decline in sexual activity in old age, there are many factors at play, one being a lack of a part- ner. In the survey handed out to seniors in Halton Hills, 22 per cent of respondents noted that they faced social barriers to en- gaging in sex, some pencilling in a joking "I wish" to the side of the question about whether they were sexually active. An additional 12.5 per cent said they faced physical barriers. "There's lack of privacy de- pending on where an older per- son is living," Marshall said, explaining that age is a poor predictor of one's sexual activ- ity, that mental and physical health play a role, as well as at- titudes toward sexuality. "There's a pretty big discon- nect between what they're do- ing and what the health system thinks they're doing," said Marshall. "Only a minority of seniors talk about sex with their physi- cians." She says this is largely be- cause physicians are making these same assumptions about seniors and sexual health, as- suming that the majority are not sexually active. "We know that there's fairly low levels of testing for STIs in older people, because there's these assumptions that ...'that can't be it.'" She says that within this de- mographic, there's lower levels of condom use, because the pre- dominant mindset is 'well, I can't get pregnant now any- way.' In addition, she says that post-menopausal women are at a higher risk for infection be- cause of the thinning of their vaginal tissue. "That can increase suscepti- bility for something like HIV," she said. She says that there needs to be more research in how elder- ly negotiate having safe sex with a partner, or how they deal with physical changes. And when it comes to the medical profession, Marshall says doctors in med school need to learn a more holistic approach to aging and under- standing how sex changes for patients as they age. "It's important to get this down to practitioner levels," she said. "So that we get more doctors asking patients about their sex lives." NEWS l Continued from page 29 OMA president says doctors must talk about STIs with seniors FULL-SERVICE RETIREMENT HOME 905-877-1800 222 Mountainview Road North, Georgetown www.mountainviewresidence.com Mountainview Residence Of Georgetown Retirement living can be the best of times when you live in an atmosphere of comfort and family caring. Seniors enjoy an independent lifestyle with comfortable accommodations, personal care and other supportive services. sleep dentistry available New Patients Welcome Family and Cosmetic Dentistry Marketplace dental Centre Georgetown Marketplace Mall 905-877-CARE (2273) • www.georgetowndental.com HOURS: Monday & Wednesday 8:00am - 8:00pm • Tuesday & Thursday 8:00am - 6:00pm • Saturday 8:00am - 3:00pm Proudly Serving Georgetown Since 1994. By Cory Soal R.H.A.D. . . . Lend MeYour Ears We care about your hearing! Professional Arts Building 99 Sinclair Ave., Suite 210, Georgetown 905-873-6642 Serving the community of Halton Hills and surrounding areas since 1992 The Georgetown Members of the Association of Hearing Instrument Practitioners of Ontario recommend a 30 day time period in which they may return their hearing aid(s) if they are not completely satisfied. (There may be a service fee charged if an aid is returned). The criteria for satisfaction of the hearing aids is that you find them beneficial. You have the final word. CAN I HAVE A TRIAL PERIOD! LOSS OF HEARING DUE TO NON-AGING FACTORS Hearing loss due to aging can be compounded by other things. A few of these include noise exposure, disease and ear infections. Hearing loss due to age and noise are cumulative. That is, hearing loss from noise exposure will be added on to hearing loss due to aging. Neither are medically correctable.There is something to be said for protecting the hearing we have left by wearing hearing protectors while doing shop work or target shooting. Each of us reacts differently to hearing loss. We may totally or partially deny that a problem exists. Typical "denial" statements are "you're mumbling again", or "I was not paying attention" and can be a way of concealing hearing difficulties.