Nurses With Undiagnosed Hearing Loss: Practice Implications
Hearing loss affects 36 million people in the United States of America, including 17% of the adult population. This suggests some nurses will have hearing losses that affect their communication skills and their ability to perform auscultation assessments, potentially compromising patient care and safety. In this article, the authors begin by reviewing the hearing process, describing various types of hearing loss, and discussing noise-induced hearing loss and noise levels in hospitals. Next, they consider the role of hearing in nursing practice, review resources for hearing-impaired nurses, identify the many costs associated with untreated hearing loss, and note nurses' responsibility for maintaining their hearing health. The authors conclude that nurses need to be aware of their risk for hearing loss and have their hearing screened every five years.
Hearing loss is becoming a ubiquitous problem. In the adult population, hearing loss is one of the most common chronic medical conditions, ranking third behind hypertension and arthritis (McCullagh & Frank, 2013). According to the United States (U.S.) Department of Health and Human Service (DHHS), National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders ([NIDCD], 2010), 18% of the adult population between the ages of 45 and 64, and 30% of adults between the ages of 65 and 75, have hearing loss. Furthermore, estimates of diagnosed and undiagnosed hearing loss in Americans between the ages of 20 and 69 could be between as much as 15 to 17 percent (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2013b; NIDCD, 2010).
Nurses comprise the largest segment of healthcare professionals in the US with more than 3 million licensed nurses in this country (American Academy of Colleges of Nursing, 2011). If hearing loss statistics for nurses are similar to the 15 to 17% prevalence rates of the general population, there are approximately 450,000 to more than half a million registered nurses who are working with hearing loss. Currently, very limited research is available regarding hearing loss among practicing nurses, a situation confirmed by the medical librarian who assisted with our literature search. The purposes of this article are to discuss how hearing loss can influence both patient assessments and effective nurse-patient communication and to explore accommodations available to the practicing nurse who has hearing loss. We will begin by reviewing the hearing process, describing various types of hearing loss, and discussing noise-induced hearing loss and noise levels in hospitals. Next, we will consider the role of hearing in nursing practice, review resources for hearing-impaired nurses, identify the many costs associated with untreated hearing loss, and note nurses' responsibility for maintaining their hearing health. We will conclude that nurses need to be aware of their risk for hearing loss and have their hearing screened every five years.
Abstract and Introduction
Abstract
Hearing loss affects 36 million people in the United States of America, including 17% of the adult population. This suggests some nurses will have hearing losses that affect their communication skills and their ability to perform auscultation assessments, potentially compromising patient care and safety. In this article, the authors begin by reviewing the hearing process, describing various types of hearing loss, and discussing noise-induced hearing loss and noise levels in hospitals. Next, they consider the role of hearing in nursing practice, review resources for hearing-impaired nurses, identify the many costs associated with untreated hearing loss, and note nurses' responsibility for maintaining their hearing health. The authors conclude that nurses need to be aware of their risk for hearing loss and have their hearing screened every five years.
Introduction
Hearing loss is becoming a ubiquitous problem. In the adult population, hearing loss is one of the most common chronic medical conditions, ranking third behind hypertension and arthritis (McCullagh & Frank, 2013). According to the United States (U.S.) Department of Health and Human Service (DHHS), National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders ([NIDCD], 2010), 18% of the adult population between the ages of 45 and 64, and 30% of adults between the ages of 65 and 75, have hearing loss. Furthermore, estimates of diagnosed and undiagnosed hearing loss in Americans between the ages of 20 and 69 could be between as much as 15 to 17 percent (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2013b; NIDCD, 2010).
Nurses comprise the largest segment of healthcare professionals in the US with more than 3 million licensed nurses in this country (American Academy of Colleges of Nursing, 2011). If hearing loss statistics for nurses are similar to the 15 to 17% prevalence rates of the general population, there are approximately 450,000 to more than half a million registered nurses who are working with hearing loss. Currently, very limited research is available regarding hearing loss among practicing nurses, a situation confirmed by the medical librarian who assisted with our literature search. The purposes of this article are to discuss how hearing loss can influence both patient assessments and effective nurse-patient communication and to explore accommodations available to the practicing nurse who has hearing loss. We will begin by reviewing the hearing process, describing various types of hearing loss, and discussing noise-induced hearing loss and noise levels in hospitals. Next, we will consider the role of hearing in nursing practice, review resources for hearing-impaired nurses, identify the many costs associated with untreated hearing loss, and note nurses' responsibility for maintaining their hearing health. We will conclude that nurses need to be aware of their risk for hearing loss and have their hearing screened every five years.
SHARE
