"Very poor appreciation of "invisible" disability"

My profoundly deaf husband had to visit A&E recently. Whilst we realise that the staff wish to reduce the number of people in the hospital they really need to understand that deafness can be a terrifying and isolating disability especially when trying to discuss medical matters. I was allowed to wait with him but the nurse who eventually treated him was completely dismissive of his request for me to accompany him. She said "don't worry I'll shout". That is such a patronising response and shows a complete lack of understanding of the issues that a deaf person has to endure. There were people with walking sticks & frames - no-one disputed their need for a carer with them, there were very elderly people - no-one suggested they should be seen alone. There were people there who appeared to have impaired mental capacity - they too were able to have someone accompany them. My husband is embarrassed by his deafness and despite wearing hearing aids he still cannot hear well especially with the wearing of masks. Some tones are easier - a man speaking queens English is good for him. A woman with maybe a Liverpudlian accent and he is totally lost. He may ask then to repeat something once but he is embarrassed to ask over and over. When I am with him I KNOW whether he has heard the question correctly by his answer. A medic does not, any answer will do, they have no idea whether it's correct or not. He came out of the treatment unsure of what had been said to him and having already forgotten what he did hear because he was trying so hard to concentrate on the bits he felt he was missing. There are notices around the department saying that vulnerable patients can have someone accompanying them but that was not our experience when presenting with an "invisibly" disability. This is a serious discrimination issue and you need to address it. The next time this happens we will be taking the issue much further than a review on here.