PSA: Dying People Can Hear You
When you visit someone you love on their deathbed, don’t be fooled by what you see. The person lying there may look completely unconscious, but he can probably hear everything that is happening in this room.
When someone’s body shuts down, a lot of things happen. They are not hungry or thirsty, they are tired, they cannot speak, they cannot see, etc. But there is one feeling that tends to stay longer than others: hearing. A Lifehacker reader and retired nurse reached out to me after I wrote an article on what death is to remind me why it is so important that people know the following:
When a person dies, hearing is always there. So be careful with what you say and consider what you say when the person dies. There should be no idle talk about a person dying in the same room. Take the conversation outside – farther away – so they can’t hear you or anyone else. Always use kind words and tell the person that you love them.
So, as odd as it sounds, try to treat them as if they were awake. Talk to them as usual, minimize frightening, painful, depressing conversations (even if you are talking to someone else), and be mindful of what you show on TV. The last thing anyone wants to hear before diving into the great beyond is the Big Bang Theory.