Hearing Aids during Cesarean Section

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Specializes in Primary Care.

Okay, This is a really silly question, but I would like to know if hearing aids can be worn during a cesarean section, and if not, why not? Personally, I would want to hear my baby's first cries! Can anyone explain this? Contacts and glasses can be worn, but why not hearing aids? Could it be related to the cost and liability of them? If that's the case, can't the patient just sign a waiver?

Thanks!

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Specializes in Anesthesia.

Anything that conducts electricity is not supposed to be worn during surgery d/t the potential for burns from the electrocautery device/bovie. http://www.mainlinehealth.org/doc/Page.asp?PageID=DOC001326

The risk is probably very low with hearing aids, but still would you want to take the risk that you could be burned or the hearing aids damaged.

You may ask for bipolar bovie instead of unipolar bovie to be used. The bipolar bovie will decrease the chance of burns when wearing jewerly/hearing aids.

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Specializes in Primary Care.
Anything that conducts electricity is not supposed to be worn during surgery d/t the potential for burns from the electrocautery device/bovie. http://www.mainlinehealth.org/doc/Page.asp?PageID=DOC001326

The risk is probably very low with hearing aids, but still would you want to take the risk that you could be burned or the hearing aids damaged.

You may ask for bipolar bovie instead of unipolar bovie to be used. The bipolar bovie will decrease the chance of burns when wearing jewerly/hearing aids.

Thank you, but how does this explain the allowance of glasses to be worn? They have metal frames that can also conduct electricity, thus causing burns. So, back to my original question, why not hearing aids?

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Specializes in Anesthesia.
Thank you, but how does this explain the allowance of glasses to be worn? They have metal frames that can also conduct electricity, thus causing burns. So, back to my original question, why not hearing aids?

It doesn't and they shouldn't be worn. I have worked in several hospitals and none of them allowed patients to wear glasses during surgery.

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Specializes in Primary Care.
It doesn't and they shouldn't be worn. I have worked in several hospitals and none of them allowed patients to wear glasses during surgery.

Thanks again. According to my maternity book and my instructor, both state that glasses can be and should be worn during c-section. Hmmm, some differences among different sources. I'll ask around during my clinicals. Matter of fact, I'll be in the OB triage unit next week, so it'll be perfect to ask that question. Thank you so much! Maybe it's becoming new practice???

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Specializes in Anesthesia.
Thanks again. According to my maternity book and my instructor, both state that glasses can be and should be worn during c-section. Hmmm, some differences among different sources. I'll ask around during my clinicals. Matter of fact, I'll be in the OB triage unit next week, so it'll be perfect to ask that question. Thank you so much! Maybe it's becoming new practice???

The risk is minimal, but in general I don't let my patients wear glasses during surgery. My main reason is that glasses make it much harder to assist with the airway if needed, and they get in the way if the patient is vomiting and I need to suction.

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Specializes in Primary Care.
The risk is minimal, but in general I don't let my patients wear glasses during surgery. My main reason is that glasses make it much harder to assist with the airway if needed, and they get in the way if the patient is vomiting and I need to suction.

Would you allow your patients to wear their hearing aids? Do you think those could cause any harm or disruption in any nursing interventions during a C-Section? Thanks.

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Specializes in Anesthesia.
Would you allow your patients to wear their hearing aids? Do you think those could cause any harm or disruption in any nursing interventions during a C-Section? Thanks.

I would tell the patient there is minor risk of damage to the hearing aid and small potential from burns, but if they want to wear them I wouldn't have a problem with it. I don't remember seeing any modern hearing aids with exposed metal surfaces so the risk is very minimal for electricity to be conducted through them that far away from the actual bovie site.

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Specializes in Primary Care.
I would tell the patient there is minor risk of damage to the hearing aid and small potential from burns, but if they want to wear them I wouldn't have a problem with it. I don't remember seeing any modern hearing aids with exposed metal surfaces so the risk is very minimal for electricity to be conducted through them that far away from the actual bovie site.

Thank you. I'm glad to read that you, as an actual person in the profession, would allow your patients to wear their hearing aids. Yes, the tiny metal components are hidden inside the shell of the hearing aid, the shell being plastic, with a fine wire wrapped in a bendable plastic tubing that leads to the ear canal. So, I couldn't imagine it being a danger of any electrical shock/burn. Thanks a bunch!

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