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Inaudible Illnesses Worry Me
Back-handed flushers and fecal microscopists teach us that communication is the heart of the doctor patient relationship
“Please listen!” I shouted at the cardiologist. I’m usually placid and articulate. I made it to retirement age before I ever raised my voice to another doctor. But I had now repeated my story four times, and the man kept talking over me, without any indication that he was processing what I had told him.
A doctor who doesn’t listen limits their ability to be helpful.
Individuals with invisible illnesses — conditions that cause suffering and impairment without being readily apparent to an observer’s eye — often feel ignored, trivialized, undeserving, or resentful. As a psychiatrist, much of my work involves caring for people with invisible illnesses.
But currently I’m more concerned about inaudible illnesses — conditions that go under or untreated because doctors don’t listen. Doctors use their ears to learn about their patients. Human communication is always fraught with misunderstandings, but aspects of modern health care are leading to more instances of doctors not listening, creating more inaudible illnesses.
As a psychiatrist, I have the luxury of spending more time with my patients than do…
