The nurse suspects that an older adult client has a hearing disorder; however, the client denies not being able to hear, and the family thinks the client is just becoming more absent minded with age. Which initial action by the nurse to assess the client's hearing is appropriate?

Question

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A)The most telling of these options would be to observe the client's interactions with family. The nurse should assess for frequent requests to repeat, inattention to conversation, turning one ear to the conversation, and lip reading. The Weber and Rinne test and use of an otoscope may be a part of an assessment but will not yield the immediate information that simple observation would. The client has already denied having a hearing problem, so confronting the client with the nurse's suspicion will probably only alienate the client from the nurse.
B)The most telling of these options would be to observe the client's interactions with family. The nurse should assess for frequent requests to repeat, inattention to conversation, turning one ear to the conversation, and lip-reading. The Weber and Rinne test and use of an otoscope may be a part of an assessment but will not yield the immediate information that simple observation would. The client has already denied having a hearing problem, so confronting the client with the nurse's suspicion will probably only alienate the client from the nurse.
C)The most telling of these options would be to observe the client's interactions with family. The nurse should assess for frequent requests to repeat, inattention to conversation, turning one ear to the conversation, and lip-reading. The Weber and Rinne test and use of an otoscope may be a part of an assessment but will not yield the immediate information that simple observation would. The client has already denied having a hearing problem, so confronting the client with the nurse's suspicion will probably only alienate the client from the nurse.
D)The most telling of these options would be to observe the client's interactions with family. The nurse should assess for frequent requests to repeat, inattention to conversation, turning one ear to the conversation, and lip-reading. The Weber and Rinne test and use of an otoscope may be a part of an assessment but will not yield the immediate information that simple observation would. The client has already denied having a hearing problem, so confronting the client with the nurse's suspicion will probably only alienate the client from the nurse.

The Nurse Suspects That an Older Adult Client Has a Hearing