Massage Therapy Ethics: Understanding Sensory Loss in Older Adults and How to Communicate with Compassion

/ Adaptability for Life LLC /

Massage Therapy Ethics: Understanding Sensory Loss in Older Adults and How to Communicate with Compassion

As a licensed massage therapist in Oregon, your work touches more than just muscles — it touches lives. You help your clients relax, heal, and feel connected to their bodies again. But as your clientele ages, it’s increasingly likely that you’ll serve individuals with hearing or vision loss. Understanding how sensory loss affects communication and trust is essential — not only for effective treatment, but also for meeting your ethical and cultural competence obligations as a healthcare professional.

Ethical Matter in Sensory Loss Care

Sensory loss in older adults — such as hearing impairment, vision loss, or both (known as dual sensory loss) — affects far more than communication. It can influence how a client perceives safety, consent, and comfort during a massage session.

Ethical practice means going beyond technical skill. It includes:

  • Ensuring informed consent through clear and accessible communication

  • Respecting cultural beliefs about touch, aging, and personal space

  • Adapting your environment to make clients feel safe and oriented

When hearing or vision loss is present, even routine interactions — such as where things are in the room, explaining treatment, session length, or asking for feedback — require extra care and assessment for whether information given is truly understood.

Culturally Competent, Compassionate Communication

Cultural sensitivity and communication go hand in hand. A client who struggles to hear your voice or see well enough to read your cues may feel anxious or excluded. Compassionate care involves anticipating these barriers and adjusting accordingly.

Here are some simple ways to make your practice ethical & more inclusive:

  • Provide verbal & visual aids: Use printed instructions, large print appointment reminders, or signs (e.g., Wi-Fi passwords, restroom directions).

  • Give clear orientation cues: Describe your space using hands-of-the-clock directions (“the chair is at 3 o’clock, two feet away”).

  • Avoid raising your voice: Yelling actually makes soft consonants like p, s, t, and th harder to understand.

  • Speak closer to their best ear. This increases acceptance for heraing loss and reduces the signal to noise ratio, which makes the consonants more distinct.

  • Use a calm, low pitch and clear articulation. Energetic high pitched may convey frustration or dislike.

  • Offer tactile cues. For transitions — a gentle tap signal instead of words.

These small adjustments not only enhance communication but demonstrate respect and empathy — key components of ethical care.

Continuing the Mission of Access and Understanding

Adaptability for Life’s cultural competence - ethics continuing education courses focus on helping psychologist, nurses, dentists, doctors, chiropractors, therapists, and other healthcare professionals and families better serve individuals with vision or hearing loss, blindness, deafness and combinations of sensor loss through culturally competent, practical, and engaging continuing education. These are approved by Oregon Health Authority (OHA) and the Commission on Rehabilitation Counselor Certification.

For those seeking to enhance their skills in communicating with those who have vision or hearing loss, consider enrolling.

2-Hour Cultural Competence CE: Effective Communication with Clients Who Are Hard of Hearing
4-Hour Cultural Competence and Ethics CE: Understanding the Diversity of Legal Blindness, Impacts & Solutions
6-Hour Cultural Competence and Ethics CE: Providing Culturally Competent Healthcare for Those Aging with Dual Sensory Impairments

Each course blends over 25 years of experience in rehabilitation counseling and disability services with lived insight and real-world examples. You’ll walk away with tools that help prevent social isolation, improve connection and communication, and foster hope—even in the face of progressive sensory loss.

What You’ll Gain

  • Strategies to prevent social isolation and despair

  • Tools to support clients experiencing progressive loss

  • Skills to improve communication and connection

  • Easy, low- or no-cost accessibility techniques

  • Real-world examples you can apply immediately

About the Instructor

Deb Marinos, MS, CRC, LPC, is a Certified Rehabilitation Counselor, Oregon Licensed Professional Counselor, and CMBM Mind-Body Skills Group Facilitator. She brings decades of teaching experience with health care professionals and other working with individuals navigating sensory loss and disability. Her courses are designed to be interactive, helpful, and will give you more comfort in your work.

Take the Next Step

If you’re ready to strengthen your skills, deepen your empathy, and make your practice more inclusive—join Deb and Olaf on this journey.

👉 Explore the Cultural Competence & Ethics accredited continuing education courses and sign up today at Adaptability for Life


Adaptability for Life LLC
21887 SW Sherwood Blvd. STE C
Sherwood, OR 97140
deb@adaptabilityforlife.com