Essential health information is missed by around 43% of patients over the age of 60, based on recent studies. At a time when following medical guidance is so crucial, patients could be missing important details related to their care.
Hearing Loss – A Global Epidemic
Hearing loss is a major problem. Debilitating hearing loss is a problem globally for about a third of people over 65.
If we take it further, we see that shockingly only around 30% of those same seniors who suffer with hearing loss have, or make use of, treatments that would benefit their hearing. When it comes to medical care, this isn’t good news.
With Health Care – Communication is Essential
Miscommunication is one of the primary 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, would not have happened if communication had been better. An enhanced ability to communicate crucial information with patients could save lives.
How Medical Care is Affected by Hearing Loss
When you are speaking with pharmacists, nurses, or doctors there is some info you won’t want to miss so let’s not linger on statistics.
With regards to reaching health objectives, the advice of health care professionals is a crucial factor. They might talk about what balanced levels are for things like blood sugar or blood pressure. There are particular things that can be harmful if they are not managed in a way that your health care professional advises. Dealing with your condition could become a problem if you miss crucial advice.
These medical professionals may explain danger zones that indicate that you need medical care. If you don’t comprehend fully what the physician is saying, you may miss essential warning signs and put off on getting help.
Your pharmacist may try to warn you about dangerous side effects or drug interactions. You think you heard everything but you lose an important detail and wind up hospitalized.
Your physical therapist gets you started with a strength-building regimen but warns you against a certain activity. You might suffer a severe fall because you missed that advice.
Why discussing Medical Details is Especially Challenging
Discussing medical data is especially tough because of a little thing known as context. When you miss some piece of information because 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 actually pretty good at. You might even come to believe that you heard something that you really didn’t hear, it’s that good at compensating.
With medical data something as small as a “don’t” or “not” can totally alter the meaning of a sentence. A danger zone, goal, or dosage, could be
entirely altered with one missed number.
In medical care the smallest details matter. When those small details are missed, it can lead to severe medical problems.
Having Your Hearing Loss Addressed
If you’re suffering from hearing loss, you might be missing vital medical advice. Now is the time to take the proper steps to conserve your hearing.