Stethoscope Complications

[LunaSkye]

Hello,

I am having some major troubles with finding a stethoscope. I've literally tried everything and I am coming to my whits end! If I don't find a suitable stethoscope ASAP, I don't know what will happen to me in the nursing program- and nursing is all I ever envisioned myself doing!

I'll start here. I was born with no auditory canals and use a bone conduction hearing aid. In fall of 2010, I was in health assessment. I was struggling with my cardionic e-scope because I couldnt hear through my headphones. Approximately half way through the semester, after trying several types of adapters to connect to my hearing aid, I was told that I couldn't be passed unless I could hear heart, lung, bowel sounds, and blood pressure. I used a boot to my aid that was really staticy and hard to hear- but just to demonstrate I knew what I was doing. I passed.

In Fundamental clinics the following semester, I continued to use this boot to my BC aid but it was so hard to hear through and really unefficient, especially with all the cables connecting from my scope to my aid. I would often check the pts chart for a baseline to compare and sometimes have my peers double check. But this is not how I want to get through school and work! This was only ever a temporary solution. I need a permanent resolution.

The disabilities department at my university has not be of help at all. I presented them with a challenge out of their usual realm of work, and instead of confronting it, it's been a prolonged process. Except, this is putting me in a position of being penalized for not being competent to the standards of my technical skills!

I am honestly freaking out as I am half way thruogh my semester and have tried every avenue. I've tried adapters to my BC aid, I've tried adapters to a BAHA aid, I have tried adjusting settings, I have tried an external speaker to the stethoscope, I have traveled to find special cables to connect to an IPad and use a visual aid. I've come to the conclusion that it is just the quality of my stethoscope that is what causes the problems. As a hearing impaired person, I can not discern the sounds from the static background noises to the low frequency internal sounds. Even with headphones, I couldn't pick up these sounds through my aid.

My only option now is to find a visual stethoscope aid. However, fundamentally, I need to be able to discern rhythms, adventitious sounds, and systole/diastole. I can not for the life of me find a stethoscope that externally amplifies the sounds without a head piece.

This has been so costly for my family and I, time pressuring, and stressful!

I unfortunately have had to retake fundamentals and am still trying to sort this out. I can not fail another nursing course again or I am out of the program. I would really not like to opt out of moving forward into medsurg next semester until I figure this out or I will be another semester behind my class.

I may have circumstances to overcome, but I have goals and dreams I'd like to achieve in a timely manner as everyone else in life.

Please, someone, I need help finding a stethoscope for me.

Keep in mind, headphones and ear pieces do not work because I have no auditory canals and my hearing aid does not hear those low frequencies. It would not be practical to change my hearing aid settings or I would not be able to function daily at the level I hear now.

Thank you!

[THE KAT]

How about contacting littman stethoscope company maybe they could assist you in obtaining a stethoscope for your particular situatation or what about that college in washington dc that is pronominatly deaf community iam sorry ia have forgotten the name maybe they can assist you have you networked with the deaf community to see if the can assist you, good luck and dont give up

[Cuddleswithpuddles]

OK, at the risk of sounding like a complete fool....

What about an old school fetoscope? They use both air and bone conduction. They have earpieces but also conduct sound through the trumpet strapped to the forehead.

Have you looked at those?

[Rob72, ASN, RN]

Here's a place to follow:

http://www.amphl.org/stethoscopes.php

I don't know which scope you have, but:

Available for $50-70 less than MSRP, if you shop around:

http://www.allheart.com/ca718712x0405.html

Cardionics is the big name in amplified scopes. I would suggest contacting them, and seeing if they might be able to offer a student discount, a "charitable donation" to an aspiring disabled professional, or a refurbished/factory-second(not cosmetically perfect). Heck, see if they would accept a video/photo endorsement, with your testimonial, to subsidize, or in lieu of payment for, your possible purchase.

Equally, I don't know if you're taking loans, getting grants, whatever, but I would *suggest* that the school could assist with financing options, in compliance with the ADA- if your impairment is the only barrier to your progress.

[adnrnstudent, ASN, RN]

Have you spoke with your ENT doc?