Sensory Alterations

Potter & Perry Ch. 49

Aphasia

Patients with aphasia have varied degrees of inability to speak, interpret, or understand language 

Auditory

Sense of hearing

Conductive Hearing Loss

• Hearing loss caused by excessive cerumen that occludes the ear canal 

• Earwax removal medications can be effective 

Expressive Aphasia

• A motor type of aphasia 

• Inability to name common objects of express simple ideas in words or writing 

Global Aphasia

Inability to understand langauge or communicate orally

Gustatory 

Sense of taste

Hyperesthesia

If a patient is overly sensitive to tactile stimuli they have hyperesthesia

• Minimize irritating stimuli, keep bed linens loose, protect the skin 

Kinesthesia / Kinesthetic Sense 

Sense that enables a person to be aware of the position and movement of body parts without seeing them 

Olfactory 

Sense of smell

Ototoxic

Damaging to hearing

• some antibiotics, opioids, sedatives, antidepressants 

• Permanently damage the auditory nerve, irritate the nerve, alter the perception of stimuli 

Proprioceptive

Body’s sense of its own position, movement, and force, which allows for coordinated and controlled movement without conscious thoughts

• Changes in proprioception include increased difficulty with balance, spatial orientation, and coordination 

• A person can’t avoid obstacles as quickly, automatic responses decrease, and fall risk increases

Receptive Aphasia

• Sensory aphasia

• Inability to understand written or spoken language

• Able to express words but is unable to understand the questions or comments of others

Refractive Error 

Common eye conditions that occur when the eye’s lens or cornea cannot properly focus light on the retina, resulting in blurred or distorted vision 

• Vision issues like nearsightedness (myopia), farsightedness (hyperopia), astigmatism, and presbyopia 

Sensory Deficit

A deficit in the normal function of sensory reception and perception

Sensory Overload

When a person receives multiple sensory stimuli and cannot perceptually disregard or selectively ignore some stimuli

• Excessive sensory stimulation prevents the brain from responding appropriately to or ignoring certain stimuli

Stereognosis

A sense that allows a person to recognize the size, shape, and texture of an object

Strabismus 

Condition where the eyes to not lign properly and point in different directions

• “crossed eyes” or “lazy eye”

Tactile

Sense of touch