Copyright 2002
QUESTION: A lot of people are not completely
happy with their audiologists. Obviously, audiologists are missing
the boat somewhere. I am an audiologist just starting my own audiological
practice. What is it that hard of hearing people really want from
their audiologist? I want to meet their real needs and have satisfied
clients.--M.
ANSWER: Excellent question! Excellent
attitude too! I wish you every success! Here is what I wish audiologists
would understand and practice.
I wish audiologists understood hard of hearing
people! From what I have observed, audiologists seem to think
their "job" is to fit/sell hearing aids as the solution
to the hearing loss problems of the hard of hearing people that
come to them. I wish audiologists understood that their real job
is to us help hard of hearing people cope with our hearing losses.
One way they can begin to do that is by fitting
us with appropriate hearing aids. The trouble is, they stop there.
They think their job is now done. The truth is, at this point,
their job has barely begun.
With a little training, anyone can learn to dispense hearing aids.
They don't need a Doctor of Audiology for that! Learning about
hard of hearing people and the many effective coping skills they
need to live successful lives--now that is worthy of an
audiological degree!
There are three main coping strategies we hard
of hearing people need to learn--amplification, speechreading
and coping skills.
Amplification:
this includes hearing aids and other assistive listening devices
(which audiologists know little about and push even less). Many
times hearing aids are what we need, but very often we need more
than that. We need attachments to our hearing aids-things like
microphones that plug into DAI (direct audio input) boots. We
need hearing aids with t-coils so we can effectively use the phone
and listen using loop systems. Few audiologists seem to know t-coils
exist. If they really understood our problems and truly cared
about us, they would never sell us hearing aids that are not equipped
with good pre-amplified t-coils. I wish audiologists realized
just how vitally important such things can be to our hearing health.
I wish audiologists would teach us how to become
friends with our hearing aids. We need training and coaching and
support as we start life with these strange uncomfortable things
stuck in our ears. We need to learn to cope with sound all over
again. We need their help to do this. I wish audiologists would
not sell us hearing aids and then dump us out on the street. That
is one reason why so many hearing aids languish on bed tables
and in dresser drawers instead of doing their job of helping us
hear. Many of us never learn how to cope with hearing aids.
Speechreading:
(the old term is lipreading) is very important to us. Unfortunately,
in my experience, most audiologists downplay the value of speechreading.
I've actually had audiologists pooh-pooh speechreading to my face.
Obviously, they don't have a clue just how necessary speechreading
is to people like me. People who lose their hearing need help,
training and encouragement in learning speechreading--not derision
and scorn. Speechreading is every bit as important as being fitted
with hearing aids! I wish audiologists could realize this.
Coping Skills:
There are numerous coping skills we hard of people need to learn.
I wish audiologists would realize this and teach us what we need
to know--even though we don't know we need to know it. We need
to learn how to talk to hard of hearing people--whether we wear
hearing aids or not. We also need to know the rules so we can
teach our families and friends how to communicate effectively
with us (My book, "Talking With Hard of Hearing People-Here's
How to do it Right," gives many tips on how to do this.)
We need to learn about the various alerting devices available
so we can be alerted even when we are not wearing hearing aids
(like at night). We need to learn how to re-arrange the furniture
in our homes so we can hear/understand better. We need to learn
how light affects our ability to "hear." We need to
learn how to cope in noisy restaurants--e.g. how to pick the best
place (hearing-wise) in any given restaurant by taking into consideration
the available light, sources of noise, etc. We need to learn to
use our eyes in place of our ears for warning signals. (For example,
watching for flashing lights instead of listening for sirens.
By the time we can hear a siren, it is already to late.) This
list goes on and on and on. There are just so many things we need
to learn. I wish audiologists would teach me these things I need
to know.
We also need audiologists to warn us about
things like noise and how it can damage our ears--especially now
that we already have hearing losses. We need to know how to preserve
the little precious hearing we still have. Furthermore, we need
to know about the many drugs that can damage our ears. We need
to be warned that we are now even more at risk from the effects
of ototoxic drugs than the general population. We need to know
how noise and certain drugs can team up to smash our remaining
hearing.
Hard of hearing people feel alone and cut off.
I wish audiologists realized just how cut off we can be and put
us in touch with support groups (like SHHH and ALDA) so we do
not feel so alone any more. Because we so often shrink inside,
we need help in learning how to be assertive in asking that our
needs be met.
If we have not been through the grieving process,
we need help grieving for our hearing losses. We need someone
to guide us though the process and not make us feel stupid or
foolish for grieving. I wish my audiologist understood how important
it is to help my hearing spouse grieve for the loss of the easy
communication they once enjoyed. We need to know that failure
to grieve leads to both physical and emotional problems down the
road.
Hearing loss affects our whole family. Therefore,
all of us need joint help and counseling. I wish my audiologist
would teach all of us the coping strategies we need to live successful
lives together.
I wish audiologists would realize that hearing aids are just a
small part of the solution, not the total solution. I wish audiologists
understood just how vitally important speechreading and coping
skills are to us. I want audiologists to be aware that if I had
to make a choice between hearing aids or speechreading and coping
skills, I'd dump my hearing aids in a heartbeat--not the other
way around. (If we all did that, they'd be out of a job.) That's
how important these things are to me. These are the things I wish
audiologists would understand.
_______________________
Neil Bauman, Ph.D., was born with a severe
hereditary hearing loss. He is a hearing loss coping skills specialist,
researcher, author, speaker and educator. He is not a medical
doctor and does not prescribe/endorse treatment for medical problems.
This educational article is for your information only. If you
suspect that you have a medical problem related to your hearing,
please seek competent medical help. Use the information here to
help you make informed decisions, not as a substitute for any
treatment that your doctor may prescribe. Send your questions
to him at: neil@hearinglosshelp.com
or visit his web site at: www.hearinglosshelp.com.
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