Dr. Dornhoffer has found that telephone conversations can be problematic. “Before texting became so common, referrals done over the phone were difficult, as other physicians often didn’t want to give details to a nurse or send a letter with patient information,” he said. “Today it is very easy to e-mail details or to speak through instant messages. I can type almost as quickly as I can speak.”
Paul E. Hammerschlag, MD, a clinical associate professor of otolaryngology at New York University Langone Medical Center who has had a hearing impairment since birth, received a cochlear implant in July 2014 after his hearing seriously deteriorated over the previous four years. “The change was very dramatic, and a little emotional,” he said. “I was oblivious to what I wasn’t hearing, so it has been a real transition. I still struggle with hearing over noise. In the end, though, when my hearing loss increased, I could not hear properly over the phone, and it is much easier to be in conversation now.”
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