A nurse is caring for a 77-year-old, hearing-impaired, client immediately post-operative total hip arthroplasty. The nurse starts discussing post-operative care with the client. The client becomes increasingly agitated with the nurse. Which intervention should the nurse perform?

Prior to any operation, a client’s personal belongings and any assistive devices, jewelry, and glasses are removed. The objects are set aside for the patient or family to collect after surgery. A hearing-impaired client will likely struggle to hear without their assistive hearing devices. This increases the client’s agitation due to inability to understand the instructions from the nurse. Promptly returning the hearing-aids to the client will improve communication and reduce agitation. Hearing loss is not a common side effect of anesthesia. The provider does not need to be notified at this time. While the client may be in pain, the priority nursing intervention is to improve communication and reduce agitation in the client.