N109: Foundations in Nursing Practice

N109: Foundations in Nursing Practice Study Guide

Chapter Five: Sensory Impairments Learning Objectives 1. Describe the structure and function of the eye and ear. 2. Discuss factors that influence sensory ability and impairment. 3. Describe tools the nurse can use to assess sensory ability and impairment. 4. Using the nursing process, develop a plan of care related to sensory ability and impairment. 5.1 Sensory Impairment Sensory impairment is when one or more senses (sight, hearing, smell, touch, taste, and spatial awareness) are no longer normal. Ninety-five percent of the information about the world comes from the senses of sight and hearing. With the loss of senses, mobility and communication are greatly inhibited. This can lead to increased isolation and loneliness, leading to frustration for the individual and the caregiver. A person does not have to have full loss of a sense to be considered sensory impaired. Dual sensory impairment is the combination of both hearing and sight impairment. It is not necessarily a total loss of both senses. In fact, the majority of dual sensory impaired people do have some degree of sight and/or hearing. The combination of the two sensory impairments intensifies the impact of each other, which usually means that a person with dual sensory impairment will have difficulty, or find it impossible, to utilize services for deaf people or services for blind people. Dual impairment has adverse effects on all areas of development, in particular the language acquisition process, conceptual development, motor development, behavior, and personality of a person. The nurse must understand the structure and function of the eyes and ears and must be able to anticipate problems with each of these senses that might affect different age groups. 5.2 Structure and Function of the Eye The eye is a very complex organ that sends a huge amount of information to the brain. It has a very specific design to capture and analyze light. In its simplest description, the eye is a box, with a lens to focus the light that enters it, and cells to process the light. Eye structures and functions:

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