Question: Sensory disorders related to vision and hearing can have a tremendous impact on the afflicted as well as their families. The results of an injury/disease/disorder causing an individual to lose their hearing or vision can be a difficult experience. Consider losing your vision or hearing at this point in your life. How would this affect your life and family? How do you think this would be different than if you were born deaf or blind? Some individuals lose their vision over a longer period of time due to Macular Degeneration or Glaucoma, while others lose their vision suddenly due to a retinal tear or trauma.

Consider a sensory loss, visual or auditory. For 30 minutes, “lose a sense”—use noise canceling headphones or earplugs and sit with your family or friends and experience a change in your ability to hear. Blindfold yourself and again interact without your sight. Throughout this experience, how did you feel? For this brief 30 minutes of your day what went through your mind, and what obstacles did you note during this experiment? Have you known someone or cared for a patient with a sensory disorder or deficit, beyond being hard of hearing due to natural aging? What was that experience like? Did you learn anything during this exercise that surprised you? That you can apply to your interactions with patients?

Answer: Those born deaf or blind adapt well to their status…….