Applied tele-audiology research in clinical practice during the past decade: a scoping review

Abstract

Objective: The purpose of this scoping review was twofold , (1) to provide information about the characteristics, type of service delivery, participant information and outcomes related to tele-audiology in clinical popluations, and (2) to describe documented facilitators and barriers to tele-audiology delivery from the perspectives of practitioners and service recipients. Knowledge of these findings can assist audiologists in considering remote service delivery options for their practices. Design: A scoping review was conducted in November 2019 to identify English-language peer-reviewed journal articles published from 1 January 2010 to 30 October 2019 related to remote clinical service delivery in audiology. Results: Thirty-six published research articles were included. Research studies were classified into four broad areas with some articles including more than one area within the scope of their article: Screening (n ¼ 5), Diagnostic (n ¼ 5), Intervention (n ¼ 18), and Perspectives (n ¼ 22). Conclusion: Hearing healthcare service delivery is expanding with the changing technological landscape, providing greater opportunities and flexibility for audiologists and patients. There are clear opportunities for interdisciplinary collaboration and for collaboration with on-site local facilitators. Local facilitators, with training, can assist in connecting individuals to follow-up care, provide educational support, and needed hands-on assistance for specialised testing.

The impact of COVID-19 on provision of UK audiology services & on attitudes towards delivery of telehealth services

“…This could explain the significant differences between NHS and private providers rating of the "Requirement for multiple technologies for each of the hearing aid manufacturers" as a barrier to telehealth delivery (Table 1). Muñoz et al (2020) reported rehabilitative audiology, including remote hearing aid fitting and adjustment, to be an area of significant potential for teleaudiology. Hearing aid fitting, adjustment, testing and counselling can be carried out through teleaudiology (Campos and Ferrari 2012).…”

International survey of audiologists during the COVID-19 pandemic: use of and attitudes to telehealth

“…Although telehealth delivery of audiology services has been the subject of much discussion in recent years, clinical uptake has been slow, despite a growing body of evidence supporting the use of telehealth for audiology services (Munoz, Nagaraj, and Nichols 2021). Although many aspects of audiology have been validated for use in telehealth ) reports of it being used in routine clinical practice are still limited (Ratanjee-Vanmali, Swanepoel, and Laplante-Levesque 2020b).…”

Home-Based Speech Perception Monitoring for Clinical Use With Cochlear Implant Users

“…Over the past decade, different audiological service deliveries via telepractice have been explored ( Swanepoel and Hall, 2010 ; Muñoz et al, 2021 ). Several applications for hearing screening have demonstrated the feasibility and reliability of telehealth ( Smits et al, 2013 ; Louw et al, 2017 ).…”