Doctor visits can be overwhelming, with a lot of dire information imparted in a very brief span of time. It can be hard to track everything, even when you have two functional ears. Add in hearing loss, and it makes it exponentially harder to catch all of the important details. Also, if it is an emotionally charged doctor appointment, it can be even more difficult to catch everything.

I frequently recommend bringing along another set of ears to doctor visits to help with keeping the information straight, as well as to have more functional ears in the room. However, my go to is to record any doctor appointment that I think may have critical information. I just use a recording app on my phone and label it the date and doctor visit.

When I was recently at the national Hearing Loss Association of America convention, we were discussing this issue. Some folks were saying that when they ask their doctor if they can record the appointment to help them remember or catch missing words, the doctor told them no. To me, that doesn’t sound like a great provider. However, in my home state at least, it is legal to record without asking anyone. I typically don’t ask permission from my doctor, I just record the visit. In Wisconsin, as long as one person in the conversation consents to the recording, it is legal. I recommend checking into the laws in your location. It appears that in over half of the states it is legal.

“According to Wis. Stat. § 968.31: A person who is a party to a wire, electronic or oral communication, or who has obtained prior consent from one party, can legally record and divulge the contents of the communication, unless he does so for the purpose of committing a criminal or tortious act. Therefore, it is not unlawful in Wisconsin to record conversations to which one is a party, even in the absence of disclosure to and consent of other parties to the conversations. [See Wis. Stat. § 968.31(2)(c), 18 U.S.C. § 2511(2)(d)].”

Another option would be to use a captioning app. Many captioning apps have the ability to save conversations so you would have a written transcription of the doctor appointment. The biggest downside I can see with that system is that caption apps are likely to make mistakes with medical jargon, so you may still struggle with knowing some critical words. My voice recorder app also has the option to transcribe recordings into written words.

I always make my doctors take the time to spell any medical jargon that I am not sure of, such as the names of medications or specific procedures. Oftentimes we can feel very rushed in the doctor’s office and that we can’t hold up the very important doctor. It can be really hard to advocate for yourself in those situations, but it can also be some of the most important advocacy in your life. Don’t feel bad making the doctor repeat until you are sure you have the information down. Also, if you leave and realize you are missing important details, reach out with MyChart. Your health is too important to chance missing words here and there.

A big benefit of recording visits is having the ability to go back and listen to the visit to make sure you are remembering it correctly. I know that as someone with hearing loss, it can be harder for me to remember things, most especially the information I hear. Because my brain is working so much harder just to decode the message, there can be a lack of remaining bandwidth to properly store the information in long-term storage. A recording means that I don’t have to rely on a sometimes faulty system to make sure I have the details correct.

Obviously, you need to do what works best and is a safe practice for your life. But I really recommend some sort of system to help you catch and remember all the critical information that comes from a visit to the doctor. Unfortunately, health care can frequently be a place that is not very friendly for those with hearing loss. It’s important to do the planning and leg work to make sure you have the accommodations you need to make the visit successful. That could include a variety of things, including requesting captioning, asking for clear masks, asking for a support person to accompany, or using a recording app. The important thing is to make sure you have the correct information that you need for your health.