The implications of hearing loss on a medical student: A personal view and learning points for medical educators

Abstract

Due to the widening access to medicine scheme, students with disabilities are entering medicine. Hearing-impaired students are an important subcategory of medical students, whose specific learning challenges with respect to medicine are poorly explored in the literature. We feel that this topic is particularly important and relevant given the current covid-19 pandemic, which has led to the widespread use of surgical masks, thereby posing a barrier to hearing, communication and education for hearing-impaired medical students. Therefore, the medical education of these students is of even more paramount importance as the pandemic continues. This personal view details the experiences of a current hearing-impaired medical student in the United Kingdom, with key learning points for medical educators who may require insight into hearing loss and how to tailor their teaching techniques accordingly.

Keywords:

• Hearing-impaired
• medical student
• background noise
• radio-aid
• lip reading

Disclosure statement

The authors report no conflicts of interest. Both authors wrote this article and are responsible for its content.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Nisal Karunaratne

Nisal Karunaratne, BSc (Hons), is a third-year medical student at Brighton and Sussex Medical School with a previous degree in biomedical sciences from the University of Brighton in 2018. He has a hearing impairment and has an interest in widening access to medicine for students with disabilities.

Dilhara Karunaratne

Dilhara Karunaratne, MBChB (Hons), BSc (Hons), MRCS, PGCME, is a surgical doctor in ENT. She graduated in medicine from The University of Birmingham in 2016, with a BSc in physiology from King’s College London in 2014 and a certificate in medical education from The University of Brighton in 2018. She has an interest in medical education.