The nurse is interviewing a male patient who has a hearing impairment and came in because of a cold. What techniques would be most beneficial in communicating with this patient?

A) Determine the communication method he prefers.
B) Avoid using facial and hand gestures because most hearing-impaired people find this degrading.
C) Request a sign language interpreter before meeting with him to help facilitate the communication.
D) Speak loudly and with exaggerated facial movement when talking with him because doing so will help him lip read.

The nurse should ask a person with a hearing impairment the preferred way to communicate-by signing, lip reading, or writing. If the person prefers lip reading, then the nurse should be sure to face him squarely and have good lighting on the nurse's face. The nurse should not exaggerate lip movements because this distorts words. Similarly, shouting distorts the reception of a hearing aid the person may wear. The nurse should speak slowly and supplement his or her voice with appropriate hand gestures or pantomime. The nurse does not need to avoid facial expressions or hand gestures as these nonverbal cues are important adjuncts and supplement his or her voice. The nurse should find out the person's preferred communication method before arranging for a sign language interpreter. The nurse should not speak too loudly because that actually distorts the reception of hearing aids and exaggerated lip and facial movements when talking distorts the words.