Final answer:
The nurse monitoring a patient with obstructive hearing loss would look for symptoms of a mechanical blockage, such as the patient reporting a sensation of fullness or a 'plugged' feeling in the ear, which suggests option C is correct.
Step-by-step explanation:
When monitoring a patient diagnosed with obstructive hearing loss, the nurse would be particularly attentive to symptoms indicative of a mechanical blockage that prevents sound waves from reaching the inner ear structures. Since obstructive hearing loss is often due to issues such as earwax build-up, foreign objects, infections that cause swelling or fluid accumulation, or abnormalities of the ear structures like the eustachian tube, the nurse would be on the lookout for non-invasive signs. One key symptom that a patient might report is a sensation of fullness or blockage in the ear, which aligns with answer choice C: The patient reports pain and states, "My ear feels plugged." Visible blood or lesions observed during an otoscope examination, which are mentioned in options A and B, are generally associated with other conditions and not specifically indicative of obstructive hearing loss. In contrast, option D is more commonly associated with sensorineural hearing loss rather than obstructive or conductive types, as it relates to neurological conditions, such as multiple sclerosis (MS), affecting the auditory nerve or central hearing pathways.