2 HR Cultural Competence - Ensuring Effective Communication w/ Clients who are Hard of Hearing
This self-paced, on-demand course will also provide you with practical tips you can use every day in your work and life to mitigate vision or hearing loss in your patients. Not being understood is a frustration for all of us. Just because hearing loss is part of the equation does not mean miscommunication needs to be the norm.
Approved by Oregon Health Authority - OHA
Approved by CRCC for 2hr Cultural Competence
Approved by the California Nursing Board, Provider CEP#18080 for 2 contact hours
To learn more and sign up: https://adaptabilityforlife.thinkific.com/courses/OHA-approvee-cultural-competence-hearing-loss
Low Tech Strategies such as moving closer, communication cards, writing, changing the words to have fewer S, C, T, P in them, using alpha terms to spell, such as alpha for a, poppa for p, or tango for t, will help make communication better. It will also convey your willingness and caring to make sure your charge doesn't feel isolated or ignored. Or even worse, a frustration.
Hearing aids now provide many options besides just making sounds louder. They connect directly to Phones, computers, and to mini mics to provide less distortion of those soft consonants. Some people can get by with an OTC hearing aid, *not a personal amplifier) without the need of prescription or high cost. People who also have vision loss need to be aware that, in order to make speech clearer, the hearing aid will block environmental sounds like a tire crunch on pavement, a door click, even horns, etc., which means outdoor dangerous travel or being unaware of the movement of people/pets in the house. This can be handled with a program specifically set up for including environmental sounds, though still capping the super loud sounds for comfort.
Upon completion of this CE opportunity, participants should be able to:
Objective 1: Identify, assess, and change information delivery options when miscommunications could be a factor or result of hearing loss, to prevent a lack of informed consent or compliance with instructions.
Objective 2: Be aware of the controllable elements of providing the best options for effective communications for anyone, but especially for those with mild to moderate hearing loss who do not prefer or know ASL.
Objective 3: to help staff and themselves build skills/compassion to address fear/avoidance of people who are loud or often reacting to what they thought they heard.
Objective 4: Be able to understand culturally appropriate use of assistive technology, communication cards, helpful apps, and access a list of qualified health care interpreters and other options when interpreters are requested or the best means of clear communication.