Research estimates 43% of patients over 60 might be missing important health information because of hearing loss. At a time when following medical guidance is so crucial, patients may be missing important details related to their care.
Hearing Loss – A Worldwide Epidemic
Hearing loss is a major issue. Disabling hearing loss is an issue globally for about a third of individuals who are 65 or older.
If we go further, we discover that shockingly only about 30% of those same seniors suffering from hearing loss have, or use, solutions that would improve their hearing. In terms of medical care, this is bad news.
With Health Care – Communication is Key
Miscommunication is one of the leading causes of medical errors, and medical errors are still one of the leading causes of death. Up to 37% of serious injuries that were a result of medical errors, according to a Harvard study, wouldn’t have occurred if communication had been better. Lives could be saved if important information could be better communicated with patients.
How Hearing Loss Effects Medical Care
When you are talking with pharmacists, nurses, or doctors there is some information you won’t want to miss so let’s not linger on statistics.
Doctors and nurses work with you regarding certain health goals. They might explain what healthy levels are for things like blood sugar or blood pressure. They might tell you to avoid certain foods to prevent spikes in these levels that can be harmful. Handling your condition could become a problem if you miss essential advice.
These medical professionals may explain danger zones that reveal that you need medical care. If you don’t comprehend completely what the physician is communicating, you may miss essential warning signs and put off on getting help.
Your pharmacist may try to warn you about harmful side effects or drug interactions. You believe you heard everything but you miss an important detail and wind up hospitalized.
Maybe you receive a warning against doing some dangerous activity from your physical therapist. You might suffer a serious fall because you missed that advice.
It’s Particularly Challenging to Talk About Medical Information
Taking medical data in the proper context is especially challenging. When you miss some piece of information as a result of your hearing loss, you make use of context to attempt to fill in what you missed. Compensating for hearing loss is something your brain is in fact rather good at. You may even come to believe that you heard something that you actually didn’t hear, it’s that good at compensating.
The meaning of a sentence can be completely changed, when dealing with medical information, with something as basic as a “don’t” or “not”. One number misunderstood could totally alter a dosage, a goal, or a danger zone.
In medical care the smallest details matter. When those little details are missed, it can lead to severe medical issues.
Getting Help For Hearing Loss
You could be missing important medical advice if you have hearing loss. Now is the time to take the correct steps to save your hearing.