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UMB News
When asked if one would choose deafness over blindness, most people would choose blindness, said Norbert Myslinski, PhD, associate professor of neuroscience in the Department of Biomedical Sciences at the Dental School, when he opened a conference about how health care workers can improve their relationships with hearing-impaired patients. "People usually say they'd prefer to be blind, but fail to understand how the lack of sound can isolate people from others and the intellectual human world of ideas," he added.
At the conference, Charles Leonard, PhD, professor emeritus at both the Dental School and Gallaudet University, a liberal arts university for the deaf and hard of hearing in Washington, D.C.; Amy Bopp, vice president of the Hearing and Speech Agency in Baltimore; and Bob Turk, WJZ-TV veteran news anchor, were featured speakers, addressing the difficulties that hearing-impaired people face in general-and when dealing with health care workers in particular.
In his presentation, Leonard presented tips for health care providers treating the hearing impaired. "A health care worker often doesn't realize that when they put an IV in a deaf person's arm, they silence them. The IV interferes with their ability to communicate," he said. Leonard began his work with the hearing impaired about 20 years ago, when a deaf student matriculated into the Dental School.
"This student had a marvelous attitude in that he worked hard to solve problems of his hearing. For instance, at that time, all dental students had to phone their patients and make appointments. How could he do this? He figured a way. He had one of his friends listen on an extension and then lip-read the patients' responses from his friend. In this way, he was able to communicate and the patients had no idea he was deaf until they showed up for their appointment."
The potential for miscommunication can be a two-way street, however, when patients are deaf.
"There are a number of things that health care providers can do to ease their hearing-impaired patients. Always ask if the hearing-impaired patient needs an interpreter to be present. Also, perhaps have a pad and pen handy to facilitate better communication when necessary. Have some flash cards ready with basic instructions and always explain the steps of a procedure or an examination before beginning to make sure the deaf person will understand what will happen," said Leonard.
He also suggested that dentists consider using see-through facemasks when treating hearing-impaired patients so that those who lip-read can continue to do so. And, of course, a rudimentary knowledge of American Sign Language (ASL) would be ideal.
Bopp, who lost her hearing as a child, grew up learning to lip-read in a hearing family. She discussed the difficulties she faced in school when teachers would turn their backs to write on the chalkboard. A recipient of a cochlear implant in one ear, Bopp discussed other difficulties and the resiliency that many deaf people demonstrate to function in a hearing world. She encouraged health care providers to learn ASL and discussed how babies can express themselves easily with sign language before they even learn to speak. The parent of three hearing children, Bopp said that "90 percent of deaf children are born to hearing parents," and discussed how her hearing children speak and sign simultaneously.
"There is a huge difference between signed English and ASL, which is a separate language that originated in France before coming to the U.S.," she said.
Turk, the veteran weatherman, echoed some of what Bopp said about how the cochlear implant-while it's "1,000 percent better than the hearing aids"-has its pitfalls.
"I hear a lot of environmental sounds, highs and lows, but human speech falls in the category of the middle range which, while better, is like listening to someone speak through a lot of static."
Turk described how his speech skills began to fail as he lost his hearing. "I began slurring my words and my co-workers thought I either had a stroke or was drunk," he said, noting that the cochlear implant allowed him to keep his job of nearly 35 years at Channel 13.
"After the implant, my speech improved exponentially, but I still find myself shying away from social events because it's difficult to interact and hear with all the environmental sounds like dishes crashing, music, and the hum of other people talking all at once."
A question-and-answer period followed the presentation during which students expressed interest in learning how to better serve their hearing-impaired patients.
When asked if one would choose deafness over blindness, most people would choose blindness, said Norbert Myslinski, PhD, associate professor of neuroscience in the Department of Biomedical Sciences at the Dental School, when he opened a conference about how health care workers can improve their relationships with hearing-impaired patients. "People usually say they'd prefer to be blind, but fail to understand how the lack of sound can isolate people from others and the intellectual human world of ideas," he added.
At the conference, Charles Leonard, PhD, professor emeritus at both the Dental School and Gallaudet University, a liberal arts university for the deaf and hard of hearing in Washington, D.C.; Amy Bopp, vice president of the Hearing and Speech Agency in Baltimore; and Bob Turk, WJZ-TV veteran news anchor, were featured speakers, addressing the difficulties that hearing-impaired people face in general-and when dealing with health care workers in particular.
In his presentation, Leonard presented tips for health care providers treating the hearing impaired. "A health care worker often doesn't realize that when they put an IV in a deaf person's arm, they silence them. The IV interferes with their ability to communicate," he said. Leonard began his work with the hearing impaired about 20 years ago, when a deaf student matriculated into the Dental School.
"This student had a marvelous attitude in that he worked hard to solve problems of his hearing. For instance, at that time, all dental students had to phone their patients and make appointments. How could he do this? He figured a way. He had one of his friends listen on an extension and then lip-read the patients' responses from his friend. In this way, he was able to communicate and the patients had no idea he was deaf until they showed up for their appointment."
The potential for miscommunication can be a two-way street, however, when patients are deaf.
"There are a number of things that health care providers can do to ease their hearing-impaired patients. Always ask if the hearing-impaired patient needs an interpreter to be present. Also, perhaps have a pad and pen handy to facilitate better communication when necessary. Have some flash cards ready with basic instructions and always explain the steps of a procedure or an examination before beginning to make sure the deaf person will understand what will happen," said Leonard.
He also suggested that dentists consider using see-through facemasks when treating hearing-impaired patients so that those who lip-read can continue to do so. And, of course, a rudimentary knowledge of American Sign Language (ASL) would be ideal.
Bopp, who lost her hearing as a child, grew up learning to lip-read in a hearing family. She discussed the difficulties she faced in school when teachers would turn their backs to write on the chalkboard. A recipient of a cochlear implant in one ear, Bopp discussed other difficulties and the resiliency that many deaf people demonstrate to function in a hearing world. She encouraged health care providers to learn ASL and discussed how babies can express themselves easily with sign language before they even learn to speak. The parent of three hearing children, Bopp said that "90 percent of deaf children are born to hearing parents," and discussed how her hearing children speak and sign simultaneously.
"There is a huge difference between signed English and ASL, which is a separate language that originated in France before coming to the U.S.," she said.
Turk, the veteran weatherman, echoed some of what Bopp said about how the cochlear implant-while it's "1,000 percent better than the hearing aids"-has its pitfalls.
"I hear a lot of environmental sounds, highs and lows, but human speech falls in the category of the middle range which, while better, is like listening to someone speak through a lot of static."
Turk described how his speech skills began to fail as he lost his hearing. "I began slurring my words and my co-workers thought I either had a stroke or was drunk," he said, noting that the cochlear implant allowed him to keep his job of nearly 35 years at Channel 13.
"After the implant, my speech improved exponentially, but I still find myself shying away from social events because it's difficult to interact and hear with all the environmental sounds like dishes crashing, music, and the hum of other people talking all at once."
A question-and-answer period followed the presentation during which students expressed interest in learning how to better serve their hearing-impaired patients.