Any Deaf, Hard of hearing Nurses?

Nurses Disabilities

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Hello, I've been a member for a while and am delighted to finally see a forum for nurses with limitations. I am profoundly deaf and getting deafer everyday. Although I do wear 2 BTE's, lip read, know asl, I do speak and I work in the operating room. Any other deaf nurses out there? I'd love to chat with you sometime.

Marvie:welcome:

Specializes in None (as yet).
Hi I am profoundly deaf but wear BTE hearing aids in both ears and communicate via speech and lipread, I dont know any sign language other than the basics.

I am almost done with nursing school om Orlando, FL and, I graduate in October 2012. I use a amplified stethoscope.

I am starting my practicum on Sept 1st on a acute care pediatrics unit, I really want to work in Peds. My dream job is Pediatrics ER.

I had a question for those HOH nurses out there- how do you communicate with the doctor over the phone? I can use a phone fine and hear fine on the phone its just a matter of comprehension since the majority of my communication is lipreading. That is my only concern.

I have Captel on my cell phone which I use sometimes but its not very reliable and has a huge lag. Should I just tell the doctors to be patient with me and just make sure to repeat back everything?

Any suggestions or tips would be greatly appreciated

Hey!!!! you and I are in the same boat. But good luck with peds...I'm scared of children...lolls...I use an e steth as well...my hearing is awful on the phone. There is a phone called Caption call google it online...I got mine free. It's hooked up in my house. You can inquire on if it's possible to have it on work...it similar to capcel only dif is u do not have to dial the translator number...the caption begin just as you pick up the phone to answer the call.I use 2 BTEs as well....I'm already a licensed NY RN...looking job right now.... But I don't think u should worry because you mentioned u used the phone fine... My ears is awful like I mentioned...I need to have the person directly in front of me.

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Hey everybody! I'm completely deaf. In other words, I don't use hearing aids nor cochlear implants and I don't talk at all. As a currently college student, I recently changed my major from Computer Science to Nursing. I've always wanted to help the deaf community who is in the need of help from deaf nurses, doctors, physician assistants and much more.

I got a a few questions.

Being unable to speak and lipread, what do you think will affect me as a nursing student and future male nurse?

What hospitals do a great amount of deaf people usually go to?

To Deafies, did/do you use interpreters for clinical nursing program? How does/did it goes? Any tips?

Any tips would be greatly appreciated!

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I am a Cochlear Implant user with bilateral sensorineural profound hearing loss. I just started in my program last Thursday and have been a long-time lurker of allnurses.

I currently use a Cardionics E-Scope II and plugging directly into my Nucleus Freedom. I am looking for other options that have a shorter set-up time and preferably less cords. Has anyone used a neckloop, sillouettes, or any other options I may not know of?

I hear VERY well with my implant to the point where I rarely lipread or ask to repeat oten. Does anyone with similar hearing have issues hearing instructors in the clinical setting with all of the background noise?

I am very curious about the visual displays that would assist with hearing through the stethoscope as well. Anyone have experience with these?

Thank you for all of your help!

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Hello! I am Hard of Hearing,wear two BTE. I was born this way. I am CNA in Long Term Care. I loved to accerated my goal, but very scare too,cause of my hearing. I would love to be LPN. I heard of speacial stetoscope but don't know what is best for me. I lived in Niagara Falls areas.I have tried BOCES (Vocational School) I didn't exceed at the pre-entrance test. I did it twice, but was able to enter Community College and couldn't finish dues to financial, plus not what I wanted to do(Accounting).I was glad to see you all in same field as me.

Thank You,

Cassie

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Specializes in LTC, Sub-Acute, Hopsice.

Hi everyone. I am 51 years old, have been an RN for 27 years, most of it in long term care or sub acute rehab, but the last 6 years in hospice. I have slowly been losing the hearing in my left ear for the past 10 years or so, and in the past 3 or 4 months have had a couple of episodes of dizziness and total loss of hearing in my left ear. My right ear has always seemed ok, (I do have difficulties is noisy situations or if people walk away while talking to me, and of course if they are speaking softly on my left side).

After the dizziness started, I finally went to an ENT, figuring (ok, self diagnosing) I had Minears or otosclorosis, please excuse spelling! The hearing test showed a profound loss in the left and a minimal to moderate loss in the right. He then sent me for an MRI as I also had a balance test, which I failed. The MRI showed an auditory nueroma on my RIGHT ear...the one I CAN hear with! The follow up appointment with the ENT was a bit funny, with him asking "which ear are you deaf in", my answer "the left"...this was asked at least 3 or 4 times! He then told me that the tumor was on my RIGHT auditory nerve and I would need radiation to take care of it. We never have explored the reason for my loss in the left as getting rid of the tumor (it is large and is starting to impinge on the brain stem) is the number one priority.

I am going to a university hospital in Philadelpha (I live in south Jersey and anything that is more than routine really requires the 50 mile one way trip to Philly) to get the ball rolling on XRT (old fashioned fractionated as cyber knife delivers way too much radiation at one time and would kill the nerve). The neurologic ENT and the radiation oncologist both feel that in the short term I will retain most of the hearing in my right ear, but will gradually lose it in the next 5-10 years. There is talk of a cochlear implant for the left ear in the future, as long as I can continue to work so insurance will pay for it, but due to insurance not paying for one if I still have "usefull hearing" in my right ear, that will wait.

I was just playing around here on allnurses as I usually just go to the hospice nursing section and found this thread. I have been taking notes about stethoscopes to do some on line searching for one, I also have been using a wrist b/p cuff as I am not satisified that I am hearing a b/p correctly, and at times lung sounds are just not there, when I know they are. I also had bought a pulse ox with a little window that shows a tracing of the heartbeat...invaluable with the little old ladies who have such faint apical heart sounds that I really am not always sure what I am hearing. But, since I am in hospice, the taking of vital signs are many times more for the family/patient, not for the actual assessment...it is amazing how the v.s. can be so normal in a patient who is actively dying.

Anyway, after that long-winded story, any advice, brands of stethoscopes and reviews of them would be wonderful.

And thank you so much for this thread...I am coming into this disability at a bit of an advanced age...with a partitally disabled husband and 3 kids that need insurance provided by my work. I have been on the verge of a mini breakdown for about 3 months over the thought of losing my job due to losing my hearing. It is nice to know about all of you who are out there working with much more hearing loss than me.

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Specializes in None (as yet).
Hi everyone. I am 51 years old, have been an RN for 27 years, most of it in long term care or sub acute rehab, but the last 6 years in hospice. I have slowly been losing the hearing in my left ear for the past 10 years or so, and in the past 3 or 4 months have had a couple of episodes of dizziness and total loss of hearing in my left ear. My right ear has always seemed ok, (I do have difficulties is noisy situations or if people walk away while talking to me, and of course if they are speaking softly on my left side).

After the dizziness started, I finally went to an ENT, figuring (ok, self diagnosing) I had Minears or otosclorosis, please excuse spelling! The hearing test showed a profound loss in the left and a minimal to moderate loss in the right. He then sent me for an MRI as I also had a balance test, which I failed. The MRI showed an auditory nueroma on my RIGHT ear...the one I CAN hear with! The follow up appointment with the ENT was a bit funny, with him asking "which ear are you deaf in", my answer "the left"...this was asked at least 3 or 4 times! He then told me that the tumor was on my RIGHT auditory nerve and I would need radiation to take care of it. We never have explored the reason for my loss in the left as getting rid of the tumor (it is large and is starting to impinge on the brain stem) is the number one priority.

I am going to a university hospital in Philadelpha (I live in south Jersey and anything that is more than routine really requires the 50 mile one way trip to Philly) to get the ball rolling on XRT (old fashioned fractionated as cyber knife delivers way too much radiation at one time and would kill the nerve). The neurologic ENT and the radiation oncologist both feel that in the short term I will retain most of the hearing in my right ear, but will gradually lose it in the next 5-10 years. There is talk of a cochlear implant for the left ear in the future, as long as I can continue to work so insurance will pay for it, but due to insurance not paying for one if I still have "usefull hearing" in my right ear, that will wait.

I was just playing around here on allnurses as I usually just go to the hospice nursing section and found this thread. I have been taking notes about stethoscopes to do some on line searching for one, I also have been using a wrist b/p cuff as I am not satisified that I am hearing a b/p correctly, and at times lung sounds are just not there, when I know they are. I also had bought a pulse ox with a little window that shows a tracing of the heartbeat...invaluable with the little old ladies who have such faint apical heart sounds that I really am not always sure what I am hearing. But, since I am in hospice, the taking of vital signs are many times more for the family/patient, not for the actual assessment...it is amazing how the v.s. can be so normal in a patient who is actively dying.

Anyway, after that long-winded story, any advice, brands of stethoscopes and reviews of them would be wonderful.

And thank you so much for this thread...I am coming into this disability at a bit of an advanced age...with a partitally disabled husband and 3 kids that need insurance provided by my work. I have been on the verge of a mini breakdown for about 3 months over the thought of losing my job due to losing my hearing. It is nice to know about all of you who are out there working with much more hearing loss than me.

I think your story is amazing...will like to keep in touch with you... I am a brand new RN...have not found a job yet ...living in NYC...

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Specializes in None (as yet).

I think your story is amazing...will like to keep in touch with you... I am a brand new RN...have not found a job yet ...living in NYC...

And our I have severe bilateral sensorineural deafness in both ear....

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