Auditory sensory/perceptual alteration: suggested revision of defining characteristics

This correlational study of acutely ill geriatric patients examined (1) if psychosocial dysfunctioning is associated with hearing impairment, as popularly believed; (2) the utility of using psychosocial changes as cues for making the nursing diagnosis sensory/perceptual alterations: auditory; and (3) an alternative model of defining characteristics for predicting auditory perception using variables that have been reported in the literature as being associated with hearing loss but, to date, are not part of the approved diagnostic category. A random sample (n = 226) was drawn from daily admission lists of English-speaking patients 65 years of age or older, admitted to nonintensive care units of a medical center hospital. The major defining characteristics for sensory/perceptual alterations were operationalized as seven variables: depression, cognitive function, social contact with children, social contact with other relatives, social contact with friends, subject-reported hearing ability, and subject-reported overall health status. Auditory sensory perception was operationalized as number of tones heard on audiometric examination. Findings indicate that assessing psychosocial functions does not provide nurses with helpful cues for making the auditory alteration diagnosis. Rather results suggest that nurses can make a more accurate diagnosis merely by knowing the patient's age, self-rating of hearing, and checking ear canals for impacted cerumen.