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EMSWORLD.com | AUGUST 2017 27 I work full-time as a paramedic for a busy metropolitan ambulance service. I've been employed with this company since 2007 and in EMS since early 2004. The first thing people notice about me is that I wear two hearing aids. I lost my hearing at a very young age due to an overdose of the antibiotic gentamicin. I've worn these hearing aids and struggled with the realities of being deaf all my life. This included being bullied and teased in school as well being disqualified from joining the U.S. military. My dad, at one point in his long career with the U.S. Navy and Coast Guard, was in charge of dispatching rescue ships and Dauphin and Jayhawk helicopters in search of vessels in distress on the Great Lakes. Occasionally he took me to work with him, and during those interactions I became deeply fascinated with search and rescue. Being deaf presents challenges in the workforce. You deal with ambient sounds and multiple people talking, as well as opinions on whether you're even qualified to be in the field. It's largely not a problem for patients, most of whom don't notice the hearing aids at all (some think I have a fancy foreign accent). The doubts I initially faced came from coworkers. When I was hired people complained left and right about working with a hearing- impaired colleague. They worried my hearing loss would pose a danger to patients and my partners, that I'd be unable to obtain directions from the navigator when going Code 3, that I couldn't maintain situational awareness in a noisy environment. There was a period where I was banned from 9-1-1 ALS trucks and restricted to working BLS because the company was concerned I couldn't function at the level needed for 9-1- 1, even though I'd had no incidents related to my hearing in the four years I'd worked there. The funny part is that the people who complained never picked up a shift with me, so they had no idea how I actually operated. My regular partners never complained about my hearing and generally enjoyed working with me. Functioning in the Field I wear two behind-the-ear (BTE) hearing aids. These are the most powerful form of hearing aid on the market for people who are profoundly deaf. They're sophisticated devices with complex computer programs to automatically change volume and adjust microphone directions, and algorithms to adjust frequencies I can't hear into ones I can. They allow me to operate in noisy environments such as busy highways, disaster zones and music venues. I use these devices in conjunction with excellent eye contact and lip reading to ensure successful communication. I've even had some partners tell me that with the hearing aids, I heard better than they did. These hearing aids are also Bluetooth- compatible, allowing me to link them with my phone for clear and concise reports to hospitals and medical control. Some stethoscopes are now Bluetooth, opening the possibility to link auscultation to my hearing aids as well. My organization was instrumental in helping me obtain these high-tech devices. We worked with an audiologist to conduct a series of exams and tests that led to me being fitted with a pair of powerful Oticon Chili BTE hearing aids. This vastly Helping the Deaf in Emergencies The number of people with hearing problems is not small. In the United States about 7.5 million people have hearing disabilities. In roughly 1 million the disability is considered severe, and about 5.6 million need hearing aids. The number of peo- ple with hearing problems is only increasing as soldiers return from recent wars and the population ages. During Hurricane Katrina and the Superstorm Sandy, the deaf and other disabled people had more problems compared to the general popula- tion, but this has helped raise awareness of their challenges. The challenges of emergen- cies involving disabled people existed before 9/11. During the 9/11 attacks, a lack of warning devices geared to the disabled led to difficulty evacuating deaf citizens from hazardous areas. Following 9/11 the U.S. Department of Homeland Security devoted resources for greater awareness of these issues. Even during Hurricane Katrina, fewer than 30% of emer- gency shelters had American Sign Language (ASL) interpret- ers to assist deaf victims. 1 Include deaf people as part of training scenarios and emergency drills. Responders and deaf people should understand how to coordinate during an emer- gency. It is also important that the deaf have proper emergency information so they can be guided away from hazards. Departments should be prepared to deliver mass care for the hearing-impaired. Translators and communicating devices should be available. Official interpreters may be difficult to find in an emergency; in immediate cases look for a relative or a friend who can help you communicate. Registers and survey information can help emergency personnel understand where deaf individu- als live and make arrangements for them during a disaster. 1 Even more important is education before the fact. The deaf and other disabled should be taught how to build their own survival kits consisting of everything they'll need in a disaster (e.g., extra hearing aid, batteries, visual alarms, teletypewriters, portable TV, lantern, cell phone, notebook, pen, etc.). This is a good topic for public-information campaigns. REFERENCE 1. Lim A, Mazurek A, Updike A, Macgregor-Skinner G. Hearing-Impaired Patients Require Special Consideration During a Disaster. J Emerg Med Serv, 2014; 39(9).