Question

A 67-year-old male with severe bilateral hearing loss comes to the clinic to establish primary care. A nurse practitioner observes that he does not understand what is said to him during his assessment. He has no hearing aids. Which of the following actions is least likely to ease communication with the patient?

1) Use a hard-wired voice amplification system such as a Pocket Talker.
2) Ensure that the speaker's face is in full view of the listener and speak clearly at a slightly louder than normal intensity; avoid shouting.
3) When repetition is necessary, paraphrase the message or write key words.
4) Lean forward and speak directly into the patient's ear at a distance of 5 to 10 inches.
5) Speak with adequate pauses between sentences and signal to the listener when the subject of conversation is changing.

Answer 1

Speaking directly into a hearing-impaired patient's ear is the least effective action for easing communication since it doesn't ensure that lost high frequencies, crucial for understanding speech, are heard better.

Step-by-step explanation:

The action that is least likely to ease communication with a patient suffering from severe bilateral hearing loss is leaning forward and speaking directly into the patient's ear at a distance of 5 to 10 inches. This technique might actually cause discomfort, be ineffective or lead to misunderstanding, especially considering the fact that higher frequencies (which are usually lost first in hearing impairment) are vital to comprehend speech, and speaking closely does not guarantee that these frequencies are heard better.

On the other hand, utilizing a voice amplification system, ensuring visibility of the speaker's lips, speaking clearly at a modestly increased volume, rephrasing when repeating, and using pauses and signals to indicate topic changes are more effective strategies to facilitate communication with a hearing-impaired individual.