Connect
← Return to Why do medical pros insist on leaving voicemails for HOH patients?
Discussion
Why do medical pros insist on leaving voicemails for HOH patients?
Hearing Loss | Last Active: Sep 5, 2020 | Replies (46)Comment receiving replies
One of my pet peeves is lack of training, sensitivity, awareness by many medical professionals and those around them. After explaining to one hospital technician I had severe hearing loss and to please face me and speak very slowly and clearly. He did not. When I repeated the request he snapped at me that he WAS speaking clearly. I think in this case he was being racially defensive and instead of listening to my needs, took personal offense. A podiatrist, snapped at me “if you can’t hear, why don’t you wear hearing aids?” I was of course, and showed her. What offended me was instead of asking if I was wearing them she made an accusatory assumption . It is to be expected in the outside world, but totally unacceptable , even dangerous in a medical setting. I always inform them that hearing loss is a disability protected by the the ADA and explain what that means. As an older woman I refuse to be bullied, shamed or silenced and if we don’t speak up that is what happens. As Tony says, it is up to us to educate people. especially medical staff. It’s about sensitizing people and I suspect those I’ve talked to will think twice about repeating the behavior.
Replies to "One of my pet peeves is lack of training, sensitivity, awareness by many medical professionals and..."
Very few medical professionals, across the board; MDs, RNs, PAs, DDS, etc. get any training on hearing loss unless they are specialists in the ENT/Audiology field. Even then, the focus is often on the medical model rather than the psycho social model. I've been told that two weeks to a month might cover hearing loss in most educational programs even when those programs are extensively long.
WE are the people who have "PHDs" in living with it! Sadly, the large majority of our population deny it, hide it, won't self identify, etc. Those of us who do are the minority; a tiny minority! The National Institutes of Health statistics say there are over 45,000,000 of us in the USA. HLAA is the only organization that advocates for us, listens to us, and provides opportunities for us to learn. Yet, HLAA cannot do it all. HLAA Is a membership organization. It has fewer than 15,000 members. Does anyone see the problem here? Hard of hearing people complain a lot. They withdraw socially. They feel cheated. Still, they hide it and often refuse to do anything about it. If you won't talk about it openly, and help others know what you need, it won't change. You have to use soft advocacy to educate. First you have to know what works. And, we also have to accept that sometimes nothing will work the way we want it to! (Think this was my rant for the day!) 🙂
PS> Joyces is right that HIPPA stands in the way of communication in some instances. I always tell my medical providers that they will need to leave a message for me. I will call them back to get the information. That seems to work because it allows me time to hook up the technology I use to hear well on the phone.
“ I always inform them that hearing loss is a disability protected by the the ADA and explain what that means. “
Good. I have been filing complaints with the Department of Justice and was picketing outside local hospitals and government buildings before the virus hit. Occasionally I write my representatives and senators in Congress or the state legislature.
I’ve been dealing with this for 45 years and I am out of patience. We have been far too nice for far too long. The ADA should have cleared this up decades ago but...
Connect
@terryflys4 Aggravating experiences! But...would you consider doing a little advocacy and seeing about conferring with management of the places you were from the point of view of educating them about what is appropriate and exploring whether there is a possibility of better training for whoever?