Any Deaf, Hard of hearing Nurses?

godsweet · Aug 31, 2007

hello Marive,

My name is jessica. I am hard of hearing since I was 3 years old. I just got in nursing program this fall. I would be happy to chat with you sometimes. It is nice to know that i am not alone here. :) I know some sign language(ASL and English) and still learning. I depend on interpreters for my nursing classes. I am wearing both hearing aids.

It is nice to meet you!

God bless,

Jessica

Marvie · Sep 1, 2007

Welcome, love to chat with you. I am happy to hear about your getting into the nursing program, congrats!

Icare4u2 · Sep 1, 2007

hi all!! i , too am hard of hearing and wear bilateral aids. i lost my hearing due to an extended illness. i do not know sign, but really do need to learn. there is an organization out there called the association of medical professionals with hearing loss, of which i am a member. we really need to become verbal so that others can see we are out there working, going to school, etc. there are agreat many people who would love to become nurses who fear their disability limits them. i would love to "hear" from anyone who would like to e-mail me!!

lets get together and start a revolution!!

kim

Marvie · Sep 1, 2007

I believe that we as nurses who have hearing limitations can be a revolutionary voice to make changes in this world and in the medical field. I believe that all of us should be more political and advocate for this particular limitation. Let's tell others what we CAN do so that the hearing world can see our accomplishments and not just tell us what we can't do. :yelclap: :yeah:

athena55, BSN, RN · Sep 5, 2007

Hi All! :welcome:

Lip Read, know ASL, PSE...Told I have good speech. Been a nurse over thirty years way back in the day before ADA and note takers, Smile.

Been told so many darn times in my life that I couldn't do this or that. I hate being told I can't do something. I much rather try and fail on my own.

Eleanor Roosevelt said "No one can make you feel inferior without your consent" How bloody true is that?

Thanks to Brian for setting this Forum up.

Another excellent place for support and education is www.ExceptionalNurse.com

Good to meet you!

athena

Marvie · Sep 5, 2007

Hi All! :welcome:
Lip Read, know ASL, PSE...Told I have good speech. Been a nurse over thirty years way back in the day before ADA and note takers, Smile.
Been told so many darn times in my life that I couldn't do this or that. I hate being told I can't do something. I much rather try and fail on my own.
Eleanor Roosevelt said "No one can make you feel inferior without your consent" How bloody true is that?
Thanks to Brian for setting this Forum up.
Another excellent place for support and education is www.ExceptionalNurse.com
Good to meet you!
athena

I sooooo love your perspective! What areas in Nursing did you and do you work? What response did you give those "can't do" people? I would love to chat with you more.:smilecoffeecup: :bow:

godsweet · Sep 6, 2007

Wow! I am very glad that I am not alone on here. This week is my third week. It is soooooo overwhelmed and i want to scream. I am not very good with papers and critical thinking. I really want to be a nurse. There are some times that I want to give up. My favorite is lab because of hand-on. I will be going to clinical in 3 weeks. Any suggestion? :uhoh3:

Jessica

DaFreak71 · Sep 22, 2007

Hard of hearing nursing student here! I use an electronic stethoscope and the school ensures that I have front and center seating in the classroom. I was told that I would not benefit from hearing aids due to the nature of my hearing loss, but as you already know, we have clever ways of functioning with this disability.

One day in clinical I discovered that my batteries in my stethoscope had dies, so I wasn't able to hear heart/lung/bowel sounds. So my clinical instructor did it for me. Afterward, (feeling afraid that she would be irritated by having to do this for me) she patted me on the back kindly and told me she was happy to help. Made me feel really good. One cool thing about my steth is that I'm able to hear murmurs and lung sounds so much better than the floor nurses and doctors. My classmates have sampled my steth are blown away by how clearly they can hear them too. It's a littman by the way.

During my first semester I had one incident that really angered me due to a miscommunication and my hearing impairment. In clinical one day I was in the process of checking off my meds with a different clinical instructor before administering them. Someone came into the med room and told the instructor she had a phone call, she said "OK" at the same time that I was asking if I was good to go to give my patient her meds. Believing that she was saying "OK" to me, I proceeded to walk down the hall and gave the patient her meds. After clinical that day she called me into the office and wrote me up for a med error, stating that she did not give me the "OK" to give the meds (even though the meds were correct). I explained to her that she said "OK" to me, and she told me she said "OK" to the person who informed her that she had a phone call. I felt it was unfair to get a med error, but what can ya do?

Hold your head up high, do not apologize for your impairment, and expect success!

godsweet · Sep 23, 2007

Do you use hearing aids with your stethoscope? I wear hearing aids. I used the E- scope, it is ok but it is hard to hear when there are so many noises from anywhere.

Thanks,

jessica

SuesquatchRN, BSN, RN · Sep 23, 2007

I'm hard of hearing.

My favorite incident in nursing school was an instructor who mumbled. She wore bilateral aids. When I told her I was HOH and couldn't hear her she told me to sit closer. :rolleyes:

Mechi · Sep 24, 2007

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:

Hello I am knew to this post but I am very happy to find nurses like me .I am Hard of Hearing for 7 years ,severe in the left and profound on the rt I wear bilateral hearing aids .I don't know why maybe a contamination with a drug called Ribavarin for RSV to treat a cardiac kid while she was in the croup tent ,at the time we did not wear head cap or mask to avoid the crystal to damage our life. I don't know if it is hereditary ,no body could find out so I gave up and started to adjust my new life I also lost my speech and learning was a road to my success I was tri -lingual at the time so I learned both again , Spanish the easy one because is low peak and English the harder one because is high one ,my french is in my head but difficult to restart. I have been a nurse for 20 years ICU and ER it was not easy because people never know what's wrong with you remember we have a SILENCE DISEASE nobody see your defect except when you do not answer their questions if they are on your wrong side. I learned to speak out and be an advocate for my rights in the hospital.Everybody in my unit will be introduce to me and will know my defect so they can approach me the right way ,I have been an advocate to the patients so the nurses will know if the patient is deaf of hard of hearing ,so they will not hear the intercome or call thru a wall when they call a nurse for help,nurses do not know the problems in geriatric population and when they are in the floor the pats can hear if they do not see the nurse at bedside ,so a sticker is placed in the chart for everybody to know the pts defect and how to aproach them,falling pts are common due to hearing lost and poor nursing approach to listen to them.

I am advocate in the community with fire rescue and ER triage nurses to let them know if a pt needs to come to the hospital either from home or street they need to make sure her device is with them or children's cochlear device must be around the accident ,It shoul be placed in triage notes as dentures ,the cost goes from 3000$ to 100.000$ and insurances do not cover it .If a pt gets out of surgery the device should be placed ASAP,nobody should be assessing the patient without their device or the nurse /MD will assess confused or agitated .This happens in many hospitals .

In a Emergency situation like bomb or fired etc nurses should recognized the handicap pts situation to help and translate their needs or even explain what's going on.When NY disaster happens many elderly were asking what" going on ,we turn the TV on with CC to read.

Education is the key to all,human resources should start educating nurses and healthcare personnel during orientation and explain the importance and liability on how to treat disabilities the legal implications to their career and the ADA employee and pts rights .

I am also a member of AMPHL .org (americam medical profesionals with hearing lost)and my state association.

You don't need to be afraid to speak out and be respected with dignity your colegues are nurses ,so they should be more caring toward your as same as their pts or they are in the wrong field,legal rights should be protecting you .If you need a change of phones in your floor with amplification etc let your manager know by law they will give you anything to get you to your daily professional life at the hospital.

President Clinton is hard of hearing and he was our president so you need to be proud you became a nurse.

I know we suffered so much and some of us have been very humiliated ,but we need to become one voice to live a productive life as much as we can.

Mechi