Research estimates 43% of patients over the age of 60 might be missing crucial health information due to hearing loss. Important information, regarding health care, might be missed because of hearing loss.
There is a Global Hearing Epidemic
Hearing loss is a big problem. Disabling hearing loss is a problem worldwide for around a third of individuals over 65.
But shockingly, if we look a little closer we find that only 30% of those people with disabling hearing loss have taken steps to improve their situation. In terms of medical care, this is bad news.
With Health Care – Communication is Crucial
Miscommunication is one of the major causes of medical errors, and medical errors are still a leading cause of death. Up to 37% of severe injuries that were a result of medical errors, according to a Harvard study, would not have happened if communication had been stronger. Lives could be saved if crucial information could be better communicated with patients.
How Medical Care is Impacted by Hearing Loss
When you are speaking with pharmacists, nurses, or doctors there is some information you won’t want to miss so let’s not dwell on statistics.
Doctors and nurses advise you regarding certain health objectives. They may talk about what healthy levels are for things like blood sugar or blood pressure. They might tell you to abstain from certain foods to prevent spikes in these numbers that can be harmful. Controlling your condition could get away from you if you miss crucial advice.
These medical providers might explain danger zones that reveal that you require medical care. You may not get the help that you require because you didn’t completely understand what your doctor was explaining.
There may be essential details about dangerous side effects of medications which your pharmacist is attempting to make you aware of. You could wind up in the hospital or worse because you thought you heard everything but you didn’t.
Your physical therapist puts you on a strength-building routine but warns you against a particular activity. You might suffer a severe fall because you missed that recommendation.
It’s Especially Challenging to Communicate Medical Information
Discussing medical information is particularly challenging because of a little thing called context. When you suffer from hearing loss, you make use of context to “fill in the blanks” where you missed something. Your brain is actually really good at compensating for hearing loss. 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 entirely changed, when dealing with medical information, with something as simple as a “don’t” or “not”. A danger zone, goal, or dosage, might be
totally changed with one missed number.
In medical care the slightest details matter. When those small details are missed, it can produce severe medical problems.
Getting Help For Hearing Loss
You could be missing important medical advice if you suffer from hearing loss. Now is the time to take the proper steps to conserve your hearing.