Research shows that about 43% of patients over 60 may be missing fundamental health information as a result of hearing loss. At a time when following medical advice is so crucial, patients may be missing important details about their care.
There is a Global Hearing Epidemic
Hearing loss isn’t a small situation. Disabling hearing loss is an issue worldwide for about a third of people over 65.
If we take it further, we find that surprisingly only around 30% of those same seniors who suffer with hearing loss have, or use, treatments that would improve their hearing. When it comes to medical care, this isn’t good news.
With Health Care – Communication is Essential
A major cause of death is medical error and miscommunication is a leading cause of medical error. As many as 37% of serious injuries that were caused by medical errors, according to a Harvard study, wouldn’t have happened if communication had been better. Lives could be saved if important information could be better communicated with patients.
How Medical Care is Impacted by Hearing Loss
When you are talking 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 work with you regarding certain health goals. They might explain what balanced levels are for things like blood sugar or blood pressure. There are certain things that can harm you if they are not controlled in a way that your health care professional recommends. Dealing with your condition could get away from you if you miss essential advice.
You may be in a situation where your medical provider notifies you that you need medical care. You may not get the assistance that you need because you didn’t completely comprehend what your doctor was saying.
There might be essential details about dangerous side effects of medications which your pharmacist is attempting to make you aware of. You think you heard everything but you lose a critical detail and end up hospitalized.
Maybe you receive a warning about some hazardous activity from your physical therapist. You miss the advice and suffer a serious fall as a result.
Why discussing Medical Details is Particularly Challenging
Discussing medical information is especially difficult because of a little thing known as context. When you miss some piece of information due to your hearing loss, you make use of context to attempt to fill in what you missed. Your brain is actually very 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.
With medical data something as small as a “don’t” or “not” can totally alter the meaning of a sentence. A danger zone, goal, or dosage, might be
entirely altered with one missed number.
The smallest detail matters when it comes to medical care. When those little details are missed, it can result in serious medical issues.
Getting Assistance For Hearing Loss
You could be missing important medical advice if you suffer from hearing loss. It’s time to deal with that and get your hearing back.
