Research shows that about 43% of patients over 60 might be missing crucial health information as a result of hearing loss. Major information, regarding health care, might be missed due to hearing loss.
There is a Global Hearing Epidemic
Hearing loss isn’t a small situation. Worldwide, one third of individuals over the age of 65 have disabling hearing loss.
But astoundingly, if we go a little deeper we discover that only 30% of those people who suffer from debilitating hearing loss have taken steps to better their situation. This trend isn’t good news for medical care as we’ll illustrate next.
The Value of Communication in Health Care
Miscommunication is one of the primary causes of medical errors, and medical errors are still a leading cause of death. As many as 37% of severe injuries that were a result of medical errors, according to a Harvard study, would not have occurred if communication had been better. Lives could be saved if important information could be better communicated with patients.
How Hearing Loss Effects Medical Care
When you are talking to pharmacists, nurses, or doctors there is some information you won’t want to miss so let’s not linger on statistics.
Doctors and nurses work with you regarding specific health objectives. They might talk about what healthy levels are for things like blood sugar or blood pressure. There are particular things that can be harmful if they are not managed in a way that your health care professional suggests. Handling your condition could become a problem if you miss essential advice.
These medical professionals may explain danger zones that indicate that you require medical care. If you don’t comprehend fully what the doctor is saying, you might miss crucial warning signs and delay getting help.
Your pharmacist may try to warn you about harmful side effects or drug interactions. You could wind up in the hospital or worse because you thought you heard all the information but you didn’t.
Perhaps you get a warning against doing some dangerous activity from your physical therapist. You miss the advice and suffer a serious fall as a result.
It’s Especially Challenging to Communicate Medical Information
Discussing medical information is especially tough because of a little thing known as context. When you suffer from hearing loss, you make use of context to “fill in the blanks” where you missed something. Compensating for hearing loss is something that your brain is actually pretty good at. You may even come to think that you heard something that you really didn’t hear, it’s that good at compensating.
The meaning of a sentence can be completely altered, when addressing medical information, with something as simple as a “don’t” or “not”. A danger zone, goal, or dosage, could be
entirely altered with one missed number.
The smallest detail matters when it comes to medical care. When those small details are missed, it can produce severe medical issues.
Having Your Hearing Loss Treated
If you’re suffering from hearing loss, you might be missing essential medical advice. It’s time to do something about that and get your hearing back.