hard of hearing

Jules A, MSN · Apr 7, 2015

While I can understand that you don't want to need a hearing aid my advice would be if you need one, get one and wear it. I have worked with a nurse who is HOH. She was nice and a good nurse but it became difficult to work with her when she wasn't wearing her hearing aid. She missed a lot in report, conversations and frankly people got tired of repeating things so they started avoiding interactions with her. Its definitely doable but give yourself all the advantages you can.

caliotter3 · Apr 7, 2015

Littmann offers electronic stethoscopes that cost a good deal more than everyday scopes and do not know how they do specifically for the HOH. They have been discussed here before. It would be an investment that you would really want to guard, because people who are HOH are not the only ones who would like to get their hands on these expensive scopes.

Pepper The Cat, BSN, RN · Apr 7, 2015

I second Jules. Get the hearing aids. Communication is key in nursing. You need to be able to hear what people are saying, hear alarms, announcements etc. I worked with someone who wouldn't wear her hearing aids. It was very frustrating to repeat things 3 or 4 times before she heard me.

NurseGirl525, ASN, RN · Apr 7, 2015

Get the hearing aid. If you want to go into a field where your hearing is important, then get the help you need. You will pay that much for a stethoscope you can hear with anyway. If this is your dream or passion then do it.

CacaoHeart · Apr 8, 2015

If you have trouble hearing patients speak, you need a hearing aid. If you only have trouble hearing through stethoscopes, look into electronic ones. If I haven't had my ears cleaned recently I have trouble doing manual blood pressures too. It is worth seeing an ENT doctor to figure out what is going on with your hearing so you can figure out how to proceed. I had my hearing checked when I failed a BP skill check off in nursing school and found my hearing was perfect as long as my ears had just been cleaned. Without a recent cleaning, I heard the diastolic stop 4 points higher than my instructor did, and she wanted me to hear it within 2 of her. I use a littman cardiology III and was considering a thinklabs digital stethoscope that both my instructor and I could listen through for skill checkoffs but thankfully was able to pass without that. I was disappointed to find the thinklabs ds2a model discontinued as the company moved on to higher end models, but I see people sell them on ebay and am still tempted to get one at some point.

Coriander, BSN, RN · Apr 8, 2015

I have an electronic scope and love it. I used to have a hearing aid but lost it during a code. I now realize my hearing has worsened so I really need to replace it. It's important to truly hear our patients and colleagues. The price of a hearing aid or scope is nothing if we miss something crucial.

shana0 · Apr 8, 2015

Thanks for all the comments. I did have ears checked and they were clean so that isn't the problem. I hear OK unless there is background noise. The only time it has affected patient care was actually funny. I heard a patient wrong when she told me her name. At the end of two weeks she was leaving and the rehab person asked her name she told him what it was but stated that we had been calling her "" the whole time she was there and she kind of liked it! LOL Why on earth she hadn't told anyone before that I'll never know. I take my job very seriously and I would never want to jeopardize a patient. I was told in hearing test I had some hearing loss and would eventually need a hearing aid. I feel I can handle it for now with the exception of the pressure readings. I think I will buy one of the amplified ones mentioned here and see if I can go that route for now. The price of hearing aids is crazy!