Deaf Nurses

Welcome to AN! One thing to remember about the Americans with Disabilities Act is that it requires only reasonable accommodations. Not everyone can be a nurse- patient safety is a must. You may find this article helpful.

And another comment on the topic:

I am deaf in one ear and slightly hard of hearing in the other. So it is something I have thought about.

Yes, a deaf person can be a nurse -- but it would be silly to think that all settings and specialties would be a practical choice. Communication is very important -- and we have to acknowledge that deaf people have communication challenges. It's not only a problem for us, it causes problems for our patients and the people we work with. We need to consider their needs/desires as well as our own and not force them to accept more challenges than they can reasonably handle.

My advice for any nurse with a significant hearing impairment is to be realistic and acknowledge what their special challenges are -- and what challenges their hearing loss causes for others (patients, co-workers, etc.)

I don't think bedside care is a practical choice if your hearing is minimal. Neither is working in an OR (or anywhere else where people wear masks so that you can't see their lips.) I recommend finding a specialty or job role where you don't have to deal with a lot of background noise and you won't find yourself in emergency situations having to react quickly to rapid conversation from strangers, etc. I work in nursing staff development and have very minimal challenges because of my hearing/balance issues. I can teach a class, participate in meetings, engage in conversation with no special accommodation needed. But I can imagine a lot of scenarios in which my hearing loss would cause problems and/or delay in my responses and I would not want to work in an area where those situations were common.

Good luck to you, whatever you decide.

And an association that may help: | Association of Medical Professionals with Hearing Losses