Hearing Impaired Nurses

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Hello,

I'm heariing impaired, born with otosclerosis. I struggled through my first semester of nursing school, unable to hear some bp and heart sounds and breath sounds. I went to my ENT and he recommended bilat electronic hearing aids with a specialized stethoscope and gave me the route in which to persue to get the $5,000 hearing aids and stethoscope paid for. I then excelled in assessments. I now have 2 stethoscopes, one Cardionics Specialty stethoscope with the headphones. The sound is so clear, I don't need to wear the uncomfortable hearing aids, and I have the Littman 4000. The sound is wonderful and you have both the functions of a bell and diaphram. Plus, with the Litmann other peoole don't accuse me of listening to an IPOD while I work and I'm taken more seriously. Anyone else hearing impaired? What stethoscope do you use? PS- Some of the nurses have taken the Cardionics and used it as a doppler and claimed that it worked!

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Specializes in Internal Medicine Unit.

I have the Litmann 2000 and LOVE it! I have a hearing loss that is greater in my right ear than my left, so it works great for me.

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Specializes in Nephrology, Cardiology, ER, ICU.

While I don't have a hearing loss, I work in a very loud ER and I just recently purchased the Littmann 3000 and absolutely love it - it reduces the ambient noise.

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hello,

i'm heariing impaired, born with otosclerosis. i struggled through my first semester of nursing school, unable to hear some bp and heart sounds and breath sounds. i went to my ent and he recommended bilat electronic hearing aids with a specialized stethoscope and gave me the route in which to persue to get the $5,000 hearing aids and stethoscope paid for. i then excelled in assessments. i now have 2 stethoscopes, one cardionics specialty stethoscope with the headphones. the sound is so clear, i don't need to wear the uncomfortable hearing aids, and i have the littman 4000. the sound is wonderful and you have both the functions of a bell and diaphram. plus, with the litmann other peoole don't accuse me of listening to an ipod while i work and i'm taken more seriously. anyone else hearing impaired? what stethoscope do you use? ps- some of the nurses have taken the cardionics and used it as a doppler and claimed that it worked!

where would i be able to purchase one of those? i've ruptured both my eardrums (long story) and now i have this constant ringing in my ears. it's painful to take off the stethascope and i really have to concetrate on sounds when i use them. sometimes my hearing is very good and other times i feel stupid asking the same question three times and looking confused.

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Specializes in ICU, Surgery.

I have nerve deafness equal in both ears and wear a hearing aid. For some reason, I ended up in the OR for my whole career. (rules out lip reading for sure!) We rarely use a stethoscope, so that's not a worry. Being hearing impaired seems to make me a better circulator. You will always find me watching the procedure and the scrubs back table intently, so I can anticipate the needs without needing to be asked. Scrubbing isn't a problem either, since you are up close and personal with the surgeon! LOL We use a lot of hand signals and eye contact anyway, so sometimes it is better NOT to hear all the stuff being said in the OR room! :lol2:

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The Cardionics is rather pricey, but you do get a 3 yr warrantee on it. It has the headphones. You can find it at http://www.cardionics.com . The littman I purchased on ebay. Look up electronic stethoscopes on ebay and there are several to choose from. The dealer I purchased the Littman from also sold the Cardionics. Remember you can deduct the purchase on your taxes.

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I also am hearing impaired in my right ear. I did purchase an electronic stethoscope which works wonderfully. It is a Siemens digital, base price, fit in the ear but I find it very frustrating hearing people talk to me when I am in the clinical area with all the people and noise. I can hear quite well, if a person is talking to me from the front or side, but with the background noise, I can hardly hear anything except the background noise. I've just paid off this hearing aid and I probably need another one for the other ear, but that will be time away before I can buy another, maybe more expensive one. Do you think the most expensive give you the best hearing. I also work in a small psych facility, and during those times with all the noise, I just take my hearing aid out. The background noise is just awful. Do anyone of you have any knowledge about this background problem?

Thanks, guys.

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I have been hearing impaired since childhood with a nerve loss, but I don't use a special stethoscope. I work in the ER and don't worry about what the heart sounds like.....I just worry about whether or not I can hear it beating!! My hearing loss only gets in the way when I have a doctor or coworker with a soft voice and I have to keep asking them to repeat what they said.

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I have a lot of trouble with background noise. I've found the in-the-ear canal digital hearing aids work wonders. They are adjusted according to your hearing loss. Therefore, only the tones that are weak are amplified and not all sounds. I do find them uncomfortable, my ears sweat! Because I was born with this, I did learn to read lips. if someone stands behind me and talks to me, I can't hear them. I find auditoriums impossible due to the noise bouncing I guess. I just know I cannot hear. Our professional disability office in our county paid for my hearing aids with a contract that I will work in Kentucky for two years as a nurse. Talk to an audiologist, they are a wealth of info and because hearing is important to your job, there is probably help out there.

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Specializes in Day Surgery/Infusion/ED.
I have been hearing impaired since childhood with a nerve loss, but I don't use a special stethoscope. I work in the ER and don't worry about what the heart sounds like.....I just worry about whether or not I can hear it beating!! My hearing loss only gets in the way when I have a doctor or coworker with a soft voice and I have to keep asking them to repeat what they said.

Actually, it's pretty important to be able to distinguish more than just the heartbeat.

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Specializes in ICU, telemetry, LTAC.

I use the Littmann 4000 and I really like it, although it's a bit heavy on the neck so I take it off sometimes during the shift. Bounding pulses are LOUD; I have to turn it down so as to not get a false high systolic on a manual BP. I can hear breath sounds through clothes but have to be really careful to keep the thing still so I don't hear clothes rustling; I can hear heart murmurs but haven't heard enough, I don't think, to do other than grade their loudness and sometimes describe the sound.

The extended range setting on the Littmann is awesome! I can hear bowel sounds on bariatric patients with that... although if the bed's television speakers are on, it picks up that all too well. I've applied gel to the diaphragm and used it on extended range as a doppler when my doppler broke once. Ugh. NEVER again; it took a half hour to get all the gel off it.

I don't use hearing aids... yet. I found when I tried one that it's hard to marry to a steth earpiece (without using something like cardionics with the headphones or the plug in jacks) and that if it isn't just right you get feedback. Also, it takes time getting used to the hearing aids and the one weekend I had 'em, I was so nauseated I could hardly concentrate. I gave 'em up for an electronic scope since staying in nursing school was the important thing at the time. But it's nice to know there are alternative things I can do in the future to keep working.

I work with a nurse who takes her hearing aids out and uses an ultrascope, so those are apparently pretty good too.

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