practice partner
On its website (chha.ca), the CHAA
shares a number of tips for doctors on communicating with patients who have hearing
issues.
Start with making an appointment. One
option is to give patients an email address to
make appointments as opposed to forcing
them to use the phone. Those who do use
the phone may have difficulty, so train staff
how to communicate clearly on the phone.
In the waiting room, the CHHA recommends a system to tell patients when it’s
their turn, either by staff alerting them
personally or by installing a visual alerting
system. Doctors can also make a waiting area more user-friendly by providing
signage (i.e., about health cards, hours of
operation), and offering reading material on
hearing loss.
Those are some basics. For face-to-face
interactions, remember that “Hearing loss
falls on a very large spectrum,” says Dr.
Jessica Dunkley. “It’s not common to meet
two people who share the exact same kind
of hearing loss and communication preferences. What’s important is to recognize that
communication needs to be tailored to each
person.”
Dr. Dunkley has a unique insight. She was
born deaf, to two deaf parents. When she
was 10, an aunt gave her a plastic anatomy
doll. She played with it all the time, but
becoming a doctor was mere fantasy. Drawn
to health care, she studied physiotherapy.
After meeting doctors who were deaf, she
decided to apply to medical school, and was
accepted by the University of Ottawa. Dr.
Dunkley graduated in 2010, and is currently
Some do’s and don’ts
Don’t assume that someone
with a hearing aid can
follow everything you say.
Ask them to tell you if they
don’t understand, and try to
reduce background noise.
Do ensure you have the
patient’s attention before
speaking. Speak in a
moderate rhythm, clearly and
using plain language.
32
on’t just talk louder if
D
you feel someone doesn’t
comprehend you. “Varying
degrees of hearing losses
can make it difficult to
distinguish one word
from another. So raising
your voice isn’t always
the solution,” Dr. Jessica
Dunkley says. Rex Banks,
Director of Audiology at the
Canadian Hearing Society,
adds that people could
have trouble with certain
high frequency sounds or
vocabulary. “It’s always
better to rephrase than
repeat,” says Banks.
o confirm understanding
D
often. People might not
always acknowledge what
they miss hearing, and they
may not feel comfortable in
asking the doctor to speak
up or to repeat what was
said.
o give cues when changing
D
the topic. Banks says that
gives patients a chance to
shift their attention, and
prepare for the immediate
questions or vocabulary they
need.
Dialogue Issue 2, 2016
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2016-06-16 12:27 PM