The reverse stethoscope technique: a rapid intervention for old age hearing loss

Presbycusis is highly prevalent, affecting between a third and two-thirds of elderly populations. Effective communication between patient and physician has been shown to directly correlate with the quality of patient care. The Reverse Stethoscope Technique (RST) involves placing the earpieces into the patient’s ears and speaking into the diaphragm. Here, we aim to show the RST is a simple and effective method to communicate with patients suffering from presbycusis in inpatient settings.

Medical inpatients aged >60 years old without cognitive impairment were included in the study. A simple repetition exercise of basic English sentences was performed with and without the RST to assess hearing ability. Patients then undertook a short questionnaire.

Our study included 109 patients with varied ‘self-reported’ hearing. 50.5% of our cohort reported past communication difficulties with health-care professionals due to hearing difficulties. We identified that the RST increased the mean number of sentences a patient could repeat from 2.6 to 3.5 representing a statistically significant increase (p < 0.001). The technique was most beneficial for patients with ‘okay’ and ‘poor’ hearing. The majority of patients (77/109) also stated the technique reduced background noise. The RST was equally effective with facemasks.

Current techniques to enhance communication with patients with hearing loss are often underutilized or poorly accessible. Our study identified that the RST is a quick and effective solution that can be easily implemented for patients struggling to communicate with health-care professionals in inpatient scenarios.