Tom is getting a new knee and he’s super pumped! Look, as you get older, the kinds of things you look forward to change. His knee replacement means he will suffer from less pain and be able to get out and about a lot better. So the surgery is successful and Tom heads home.
But that isn’t the end of it.
Regrettably, the healing process doesn’t go very well. An infection takes hold, and Tom ends up back in the hospital for another knee surgery. It’s becoming less thrilling for Tom by the minute. As the doctors and nurses try to figure out what happened, it becomes evident that Tom wasn’t following his recovery instructions.
So here’s the thing: it isn’t that Tom didn’t want to observe those recovery guidelines. Tom actually never even heard the instructions. It turns out that there is a strong connection between hospital visits and hearing loss, so Tom isn’t alone.
Hearing loss can result in more hospital visits
By now, you’re most likely familiar with the typical drawbacks of hearing loss: you tend to socially isolate yourself, causing you to become more removed from friends and family, and you raise your danger of developing dementia. But there can be additional, less apparent drawbacks to hearing loss, too, some of which we’re just starting to actually understand.
One of those relationships that’s becoming more apparent is that hearing loss can lead to an increase in emergency room trips. One study found that individuals with hearing loss have a 17% greater danger of requiring a trip to the emergency room and a 44% increased chance of readmission later.
What’s the link?
There are a couple of reasons why this might be.
- Your situational awareness can be impacted negatively by neglected hearing loss. Anything from a stubbed toe to a car accident will be more likely to occur if you’re not aware of what’s around you. These types of injuries can, of course, send you to the hospital (if you stub your toe hard enough).
- Once you’re in the hospital, your likelihood of readmission goes up significantly. Readmission occurs when you’re discharged from the hospital, spend some time at home, and then have to go back to the hospital. Sometimes this happens because a complication occurs. In other instances, readmission may result from a new problem, or because the initial problem wasn’t properly addressed.
Risk of readmission increases
So why are people with untreated hearing loss more likely to be readmitted to the hospital? There are a couple of reasons for this:
- If you have neglected hearing loss, you might not be able to hear the instructions that your nurses and doctors give you. You won’t be able to properly do your physical therapy, for instance, if you fail to hear the instructions from your physical therapist. This can result in a longer recovery period while you’re in the hospital as well as a longer recovery once you’re discharged.
- If you can’t hear your recovery directions, you won’t know how to care for yourself as you continue recovering at home. If you can’t hear the instructions (and especially if you don’t know you aren’t hearing your instructions properly), you’re more likely to reinjure yourself.
Let’s say, for instance, you’ve recently had surgery to replace your knee. Your surgeon might tell you not to take a shower for the next 3 weeks, but you hear 3 days instead. And you could find yourself back in the hospital with a severe infection.
Keeping track of your hearing aids
At first glimpse, the solution here may seem simple: you just need to use your hearing aids! Unfortunately, hearing loss usually progresses very slowly, and people with hearing loss might not always realize they are feeling its effects. The solution here is to make an appointment for a hearing exam with us.
Even after you’ve taken the measures and invested in a set of hearing aids, there’s still the possibility of losing them. It’s often a chaotic scene when you have to go in for a hospital stay. So the probability of losing your hearing aid is absolutely present. You will be better able to remain engaged in your care when you’re in the hospital if you know how to deal with your hearing aid.
Tips for preparing for a hospital stay when you have hearing loss
If you’re dealing with hearing loss and you’re going in for a hospital stay, a lot of the headaches and discomfort can be avoided by knowing how to get yourself ready. Here are a few basic things you can do:
- Keep your eye on your battery’s charge. Bring spares if you need them and charge your hearing aids when you can.
- Encourage your loved ones to advocate for you. You should always be advocating for yourself in a hospital setting.
- Don’t forget your case. It’s really important to have a case for your hearing aids. This will make them a lot easier to keep track of.
- Wear your hearing aids when you can, and put them in their case when you’re not wearing them.
- Communicate to hospital staff about your hearing loss. The more informed you are about your hearing loss, the less likelihood there is for a miscommunication to occur.
The trick here is to communicate with the hospital at every stage. Your doctors and nurses need to be told about your hearing loss.
Hearing loss can cause health issues
So perhaps it’s time to stop thinking of hearing health and your overall wellness as two totally different things. After all, your hearing can have a substantial impact on your general health. In many ways, hearing loss is no different than a broken arm, in that each of these health problems requires prompt treatment in order to prevent possible complications.
You don’t have to be like Tom. Keep your hearing aids close the next time you have to go in for a hospital stay.