?amplified stethoscope (calling any physicians out there)

[mattsmum]

hi - i was wondering if any physicians could give me some advice regarding amplified sthethoscopes; or how else you deal with moderate to severe hearing loss on one side at work.
i am a neonatologist (in the uk), and had radiosurgery last july.
i have been on a career break for the last 2 yrs for family reasons - during which time my AN became apparent and was treated. i am due to return to work in september 2011 - and on a recent 'keeping in touch day' discovered that although i have apparently normal hearing on the other side i am unable to hear even moderately loud murmurs with a standard stethoscope. i have also been thinking of a hearing aid, but don't know how i would then use a stethoscope... i wondered about an amplified digital stethoscope, if i can manage the rest of the work without an aid.
i also have significant balance issues, and am having rehab but that too may pose a few problems (particularly as i am unable to drive at night at the moment which would preclude being on-call).
any suggestions or tips welcomed,

vikki

[ombrerose4]

Hi Vikki,

I am a new graduate nurse who had AN surgery 9/2009. When I went back to school after 6 months I knew I would not be able to hear well with a regular stethoscope. I lost all hearing in my AN ear after surgery. I checked out a few sights online and ended up doing a free 14 day trial with a Littman 3100 electronic stethoscope. I was really happy with it and ended up purchasing one. It works great by amplifying heart and breath sounds. You can check put the Littman site online and see what they have. Good luck!  By the way I also have a Baha hearing device from Cochlear which works really well, especially in the clinical field. It will not help you hear better with a regular stethoscope, but it does not interfere at all with the electronic stethoscope. I hope everything works out well for you.

[suz]

Thanks for bringing this topic up! I am a high-risk OB (MFM) nurse and mostly use my stethoscope for blood pressures.I work in an outpatient setting. I lost some hearing on my AN side after surgery but 6 months after had an abrupt loss of hearing on that side. The abrupt loss occurred well after I returned to work and I have had to make adjustments quickly and in the midst of my busy life. My work involves fetal monitors, which of course requres LISTENING to them. In order to practice safely I have had to adapt creatively. I have learned that I can feel the vibration of the fetal heart beat by placing my hand on the monitor, which helps when I m having a hard time locating the fetal heart rate. Also have rigged an amplifier using a home "baby monitor" so that I can hear the fetal monitors better when I am in the adjoining room doing ultrasound tests. The stethoscope I find works best when the ear pieces are reallly jammed into my ears. When I do that, I also "feel" the pulsation as well as hear it. For heart and breath sounds I think a SSD devicewould be necessary. Thanks to the person who recommended the Littman device - I am going to check it out.
More challenging to me is getting my co-workers to speak up around me and not whisper into my bum ear! Because of patient privacy concerns and our too-small work space, everyone is always whispering about patient issues. Understandable but VERY frustrating. If I had a nickel for every time I said, "Can you repeat that?" every day I'd be a rich woman!
I would recommend that you take as many opportunities to re-orient yourself slowly as you can so you can problem-solve the many little challenges that come up. Good luck!
Suz

[mattsmum]

hi both - thanks for the suggestions; i will check out the littman site,

vikki