How To Communicate With Deaf & Hard of Hearing Patients w/ Nurse Mikaela

Someone tells you “just speak louder,” and suddenly you realize they don’t understand the problem at all. That’s the heart of our conversation with Nurse Mikaela, a registered nurse who is deaf, as we dig into what real communication looks like at the bedside and why clarity, not volume, is often the difference between trust and confusion.We get practical fast: how to stop guessing and start asking patients their preferred communication method, how closed-loop communication prevents mistakes, and how to work with an ASL interpreter without turning the patient into a third-person bystander. We also talk about why deaf and hard of hearing patients may feel hesitant to ask for what they need, and how nurses can reduce that fear by offering options up front like clear face masks, writing things down, better positioning, and a calm environment.Then we widen the lens to accessibility in nursing itself. Mikaela shares what it’s like being told to drop out, how assumptions show up during orientation, and how accommodations and assistive technology like cochlear implants, mini microphones, and amplified digital stethoscopes can make safe practice possible across settings from ICU to home health.If you care about patient safety, therapeutic communication, and healthcare accessibility, you’ll leave with concrete steps you can use on your next shift. Subscribe, share this with a nurse or nursing student, and leave a review with the communication tip you want every clinician to adopt.To submit your stories & comments, visit: https://simplenursing.com/podcast/