In celebration of Better Speech and Hearing Month, I would like all of you to take a few minutes to think about what sound you would miss the most if you could not hear. I ask you to do this because it’s important for us as case managers to understand what our patients experience so we can better understand their needs.

I once worked with a case manager assigned to a patient who was injured while cleaning a printing press, which caught and mangled his arms. As a result of the extensive damage, he required above-the-elbow amputations of both arms. I’m sure that just reading this, many of you have already started to imagine the extensive needs this patient would have as a result of this workplace injury. To understand the challenges her patient would experience as a result of this devastating injury, the case manager tied her hands behind her back for a full day. It was an eye-opening experience for her and for everyone else who had to assist her that ONE day.

Loss of hearing is more difficult to simulate, but simply being more aware of sounds around us can help us understand what we would miss if we couldn’t hear. Take time as you go about your days this week to think about what you would miss if you lost your hearing. If you want, you can email me and I will post your thoughts and comments in Question of the Week for others to read. (And be sure check out the responses to last week’s Question of the Week on how Across My Desk readers balance their work and personal lives.)

Case managers who manage patients with hearing impairments may want to check out the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA). This is the professional, scientific and credentialing association for more than 127,000 speech/language pathologists, audiologists, and speech, language and hearing scientists in the United States and the world. The site has information about testing and resources you can use to assist those with hearing impairments.

One of the things that we can all do this month is to get our hearing checked. If you’re like me, you may not have done this since grade school. The two key causes of hearing loss are ear infections and exposure to loud noises. Most of us have had these experiences, so getting our hearing checked can give us peace of mind that all is well or, if there have been any changes, learn what we can do to improve or correct the problem. To learn more about how hearing and the risks to it, listen to the NPR story, “Turn it to the left,” in this week’s News You Can Use.

Also, if you are looking for a way to give back to your community, I would like to share with you an organization that focuses on the hearing-impaired. Quota International is a global volunteer organization that provides service projects for the hearing impaired and disadvantaged women and children. I first heard about Quota International a few years ago from a friend, and joined it as I was looking for a fun way to help those in need.

Belonging to Quota has been an enlightening experience for me. Each time I am involved in an activity with the hearing-impaired or see the faces of mothers when we deliver Christmas gifts for them and their children, I realize that despite our individual challenges, we really are all the same and it is my privilege to meet them!

Have a good week,

Anne Llewellyn, RN-BC, MS, BHSA, CCM, CRRN
Editor-in-Chief of Across My Desk, Case in Point magazine, and the Case Management Resource Guide
allewellyn@dorlandhealth.com