Ent Behavior question

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C-NICE

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I had an ent appointment yesterday. Everything went fairly well (confirmed that I may slowly do deaf). I felt fairly comfortable with my new ent(she is Hearing impaired also) My wife who is hearing came along for moral support, she is my rock!! My question is when my wife asked and innocent question about the ents hearing loss the ent responded "my hearing is not an issue here". I just was little taken back by how someone who is an ent and hearing impaired could be so sensative about their own hearing loss?
 
I think it falls into the realm of personal questions.
 
Interesting how ent's responses were. apparently, ent is pretty sensitive about this one which is personal question. =?
 
Doctors often have that overly professional manner that comes with the job. Since her hearing loss really doesn't have anything to do with yours, as each person is different, it doesn't have any bearing in your case. The visit was about you and your hearing, after all.
 
Bottesini said:
I think it falls into the realm of personal questions.
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Exactly. It is a matter of professional boundaries, as well as ethics. The time for the appointment is to be spent focusing on the client/patient, not the practitioner.
 
Thankyou

Thankyou for answering my question. Her being hearing impaired made me feel much more at ease. I felt she related to me better. I also brought my wife because when we were dating I did not go into enough detail about my hearing loss. She is still adjusting to the situation.
 
It's possible the ENT felt that her ability to BE an ENT was being questioned.

I don't ask my personal physician about his weight even though he's obviously overweight :)
 
C-NICE said:
I had an ent appointment yesterday. Everything went fairly well (confirmed that I may slowly do deaf). I felt fairly comfortable with my new ent(she is Hearing impaired also) My wife who is hearing came along for moral support, she is my rock!! My question is when my wife asked and innocent question about the ents hearing loss the ent responded "my hearing is not an issue here". I just was little taken back by how someone who is an ent and hearing impaired could be so sensative about their own hearing loss?
Click to expand...

some people do not feel that it is professional to discuss personal issues. i don't blame your ent at all for saying what she did -- although if i were her, i would have phrased it differently (such as saying, "i'm sorry, but i'd prefer not to discuss that.").
 
I agree with everyone on this though I think the ENT might have worded it a little differently. it's all in the delivery, as they say.
 
I agree with others...it probably has to do with professionalism. I am a teacher and too often parents ask me about my deafness during IEP meetings and I always steer the questions back to about their children cuz the IEP meeting is not about me but about their child. I am sure I have come off as stiff and unfriendly but I really dont like wasting my time away from the classroom talking about my hearing loss.
 
Physicians run the gamut, a cross section of the population. You may find the next ENT or HOH physician is warm and fuzzy. It's also a matter of reading your clients. With my pediatric patients, I sometimes tell them of the exercises I have to do to maintain my level of independence. Some parents says it helps motivate their child. With other families, sharing my own experiences will add nothing but distraction to the issues at hand, and also add precious time to the visit. Don't read too much into the response, especially if she's a great ENT in all other respects.
 
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