Sensory Disorders
Four hours after a stapedectomy, the patient complains that hearing has not improved at all. What knowledge would the nurse use to shape a response?
Hearing will not return until edema subsides.
The 62-year-old home health patient who is recovering from eye surgery complains of a feeling of "grittiness" in the eye and is having blurred vision. The eyes are reddened and have stringy mucus. What do these complaints indicate?
Sjögren syndrome
Why would the nurse encourage a group of teenagers to protect their eyes with dark sunglasses while using a UV lamp?
The lamp can cause cataracts.
What should a patient who has had a cataract repair avoid?
The lifting of heavy objects
What is the first indication of macular degeneration?
The loss of central vision
The patient tells the nurse that he is legally blind. How would this information impact the nurse's plan of care for this patient?
The nurse would need to determine how this patient's visual impairment affects normal functioning.
One of the housekeepers splashes a chemical in the eyes. What should be the first priority?
Irrigate with normal saline solution for 20 minutes.
Select all the conditions that may cause conductive hearing loss.
-Buildup of cerumen -Foreign bodies -Otosclerosis of external auditory canal -Otitis media with effusion
What factors must the nurse consider when assessing readiness to learn when teaching health promotion practices for the visually and hearing impaired?
-Cultural benefits -Values -Habits
What should the nurse do when assisting a blind person to walk in an unfamiliar hospital environment?
-Describe the surroundings. -Encourage the patient to ask for verbal cues. -Place patient hand on nurse's shoulder or elbow.
Which of the following are causes of cataracts?
-Long-term use of corticosteroid -Congenital from exposure to maternal rubella -Diabetes mellitus -Smoking
What would a nurse do when the patient arrives in the PACU after a left stapedectomy?
-Turn the patient to his right side. -Leave the bed flat. -Medicate immediately on the complaint of nausea.
The nurse is aware that the patient has 20/40 vision. This means that the patient can see at 20 ft what the normal eye can see at _______ ft.
20
What does the cataract treatment of phacoemulsification involve?
Breaking the cataract with ultrasound
What is the process when the lens of the eye changes its curvature to focus on the retina?
Accommodation
When the newly blind male home health patient asks the nurse how he might get assistance, who might the nurse suggest he contact?
American Foundation for the Blind for a list of agencies
When the patient stares at the black dot on an Amsler grid, what should the nurse ask him to report?
Any distortion of the grid
A patient who had an enucleation of the right eye has been admitted PACU. What should the nurse include in the plan of care?
Apply a pressure dressing over the right eye socket.
What should the nurse advise the 20 year old to do who has been put on cefaclor (Ceclor) for a resistant otitis media?
Avoid alcoholic beverages.
What does diabetes retinopathy result from?
Capillaries in retina hemorrhage
What is the first nursing intervention step for the immediate care of a patient with a penetrating wound of the eye?
Check for the irregularity of the pupil.
What is the most interior part of the eye?
Choroid
What does a tympanoplasty correct?
Conductive hearing loss
What do miotic eye drops do for a patient with glaucoma?
Constrict the pupil and open the canal of Schlemm.
When the patient in the emergency room complains of seeing flashing lights and a curtain down over his right eye, the nurse recognizes this as a symptom of which condition?
Detached retina
Which complaint made by a 64-year-old patient during a health interview would alert the nurse to the possibility of cataracts?
Difficulty driving at night
What should the nurse include in the plan of care following a tympanoplasty?
Elevating head of bed with operative side facing upward
Why is otitis media found more frequently in children 6 to 36 months?
Eustachian tubes in children are shorter and straighter.
Which may contribute to otitis media?
Exposure to cigarette smoke Allergies Upper respiratory infections
The nurse counsels the 16-year-old boy that playing his music at high volume can result in impairment in hearing related to:
damage of the fine hair cells in the organ of Corti.
The home health patient complains of tearing and a feeling of dryness in the right eye. The nurse assesses that the eyelid is turned inward and the sclera is red. The nurse documents the presence of a(n)_________________.
entropion
The total removal of an eye is a(n) ___________.
enucleation
The nurse will assess for _____________ when the older adult home health patient complains that the entire right side of his head hurts and he cannot chew without pain.
external otitis
The nurse explains that a pneumatic retinopexy is a repair of a retinal detachment using a bubble of_________ to put pressure on the damaged retina.
gas
The nurse takes into consideration that the Weber test indicated a conductive hearing loss in a patient because the patient reported hearing the tone:
louder in his affected ear.
The surgical incision into the eardrum with either a knife or a heated wire loop to relieve pressure in the middle ear is a(n) ___________.
myringotomy
Progressive deafness caused by the ankylosis of the stapes is the condition of__________.
otosclerosis
The nurse clarifies that the difference between a photorefractive keratectomy (PRK) and a laser in-situ keratomileusis (LASIK) is that a LASIK:
removes some internal layers of the cornea.
Which is a sign of acute angle closure glaucoma (AACG)?
Large fixed pupil
How should the nurse advise a patient who has severe vertigo from labyrinthitis?
Lie immobile and hold the head in one position until the vertigo lessens.
What is a common mistake that hinders communication when communicating with the hearing impaired?
Overaccentuating words
What must a patient do following a left vitrectomy?
Position self in a face-down position for 4 to 5 days.
What should the nurse remind the hearing aid wearer to do when the nurse hears a whistling hearing aid?
Reinsert the ear mold.
How would the nurse explain the purpose of photocoagulation to a diabetic patient with diabetic retinopathy?
The procedure will destroy new blood vessels, seal leaking vessels, and help prevent retinal edema.
