Hello!

I’ve been a longtime reader of these posts, & today I feel like I have something to contribute so I’ve created my account! My name is Sara, & for the last 20 years I’ve worked as a Teacher of Students with Blindness/Low Vision. I’m also hard of hearing. Some of the areas I teach my students include braille, assistive technology, & Orientation & Mobility (long white cane skills)…but I think the most important skill I teach my students is self-advocacy. Reading this post made me think that some self-advocacy would have gone a long way in making this appointment successful.

This does sound like an incredibly frustrating situation, Frances! I’m wondering if additional self-advocacy strategies might have helped you in this situation. Some areas would have been out of your control, such as having the dr. look at your back—annoying, but, ok, rules are rules-- if it wasn’t part of the initial referral you’ll make another appointment for that.

Areas that could have been in your control might have included some additional prep before your appointment—after all, you’ve waited 6 months to see the dr., so you want to understand all of the important information the dr. has to tell you, & help make the appointment to go as smoothly as possible, right?

Have you considered using a speech-to-text app in situations where you may have difficulty hearing & have essential information to receive? There are a number of phone apps that will do just that. Depending on your brand of hearing aids, there’s also likely a tabletop or clip on microphone that connects directly to your hearing aids that you could use as well.

I often carry an extra mask that’s designed for people who are deaf/hard of hearing. You may have seen the ones with the clear window. Those can be helpful to give others in situations where speech reading would be helpful, such as a dr.’s appointment & masks as still required. Again, like with the referral for the sore on your back, if the policy is that doctors must continue to mask up, you, as the other half of the communication team, should other ways in your back pocket to ensure a successful interaction.

Most of us know that many people, (some doctors included!) are under the impression that hearing aids “fix” hearing loss the way glasses fix vision in some cases. Those of us who wear them know all to well that even with hearing aids, our hearing is not perfect. So, this dr., when he heard your comment, “see my hearing aid?” he likely thought that since you were wearing it, you would hear/understand him.

Other than not lowering his mask, since that was the only suggestion provided to him, I’m not sure a negative review was warranted because no other options were given. Had he said no to the mask, he might have been more than happy to write information down in a notepad, use your speech-to-text app or wear a small microphone that was streaming to your hearing aids! Rather than thinking about signing some choice words, instead, see if CART is available for your next appointment.

You were asking how others handle this sort of situation. It sounds like you have another chance for a successful interaction at your next appointment, so take some time to play around with apps until your comfortable, order some clear window masks, & instead of just stating that you have hearing aids, giving some suggestions on how the communication partner is essential—"I wear hearing aids, SO IT WOULD HELP ME OUT IF YOU COULD face me while talking rather than looking at the computer/speak slower/get my attention before you start speaking,” etc. whatever it is that you need! People generally want to be helpful, but they often have no idea what to do unless we provide them with that information.

I love working on self-advocacy skills with my students because it takes practice to figure out what it is that we need, how to ask for what we need, & how to adapt when our needs aren’t being met. It takes at least 2 people for a successful communication interaction, but it’s up to us to let people know how they can help!

Good luck at your next appointment!
~~Sara