The Role of Telemedicine in Auditory Rehabilitation

Abstract

Objective The purpose of this study was to assess the feasibility and effectiveness of live telemedicine applications in hearing amplification and cochlear implantation. Data Sources and Study Selection A systematic search was performed in PubMed, MEDLINE, PsychINFO, CINALH, and Web of Science to identify peer-reviewed research. Inclusion criteria were titles containing words from the search terms (1) audiology, otolaryngology, and hearing impairment, (2) rehabilitative methods, and (3) telemedicine. Exclusion criteria were 1) non-English articles, and 2) non-original research. Data Extraction and Synthesis Twelve eligible studies were identified. The studies employed a prospective design in nine of the articles and retrospective case series in three. The use of telemedicine for the provision of cochlear implant services was examined in eight of the articles and with hearing aids in four of the articles. The types of services include intraoperative cochlear implant telemetry; implant programming and assessment of electrode-specific measures and speech recognition after implantation. Hearing aid programming and remote gain assessments were also reported. Many studies assess patient and provider satisfaction along with encounter time comparison. The studies occurred from 2009–2014 and took place in seven countries. Conclusions This review examined the feasibility of remote telemedicine connection to provide in auditory rehabilitation services through hearing aids and cochlear implants. There are significant concerns regarding Internet bandwidth limitations for remote clinics. There is a paucity of research examining reimbursement and cost-effectiveness for services. Further prospective research investigating cost-effectiveness and bandwidth limitations is warranted to assess long-term sustainability of remote audiological rehabilitative service delivery.

Teleaudiology Services for Rehabilitation With Hearing Aids in Adults: A Systematic Review

“…Three previous systematic reviews of the literature on tele-audiology have been published and examined the following: (i) the use of telehealth in audiology (Swanepoel & Hall 2010), (ii) telehealth studies in hearing sciences and speech-language (Molini-Avejonas, Rondon-Melo, Amato & Samelli, 2015), and (iii) the feasibility and effectiveness of synchronous telehealth in hearing rehabilitative services (Bush, Thompson, Irungu, & Ayugi, 2016). These reviews concluded that (a) there is a lack of protocols and models of service delivery for specific populations, (b) there are resource constraints e.g.…”

Teleconsultoria Assíncrona Com Fonoaudiólogos De Crianças Com Deficiência Auditiva: Relato De Casos

“…Para Correia et al (2014) a telessaúde na região norte/nordeste apresenta um grande desafio quanto à qualidade da conectividade, desafio também apontado pelo estudo de revisão sistemática de Molina-Alvejonas, et al (2015) e outros autores. (RAVI et al, 2018;BUSH et al, 2016).…”

“…A utilização dos recursos de telessaúde para os serviços de reabilitação em Audiologia tem demonstrado grandes avanços. Algumas das questões importantes a serem solucionadas para capitalizar ainda mais o potencial destas ferramentas são as limitações da internet de banda larga nas regiões remotas e o custo-efetividade dos serviços oferecidos (BUSH et al, 2016).…”

Hörimplantate im Zeitalter der Digitalisierung

“…Klinische Untersuchungen könnten auch bei der Nachsorge, wie bereits im Kapitel Screening beschrieben, über sog. Otoskopie-Apps abgebildet werden [90]. Die wahrscheinlich interessantesten Möglichkeiten bei Betrachtung der Digitalisierung ergeben sich für die audiologische Nachsorge, die regelhaft bei Auffälligkeiten in der technischen Nachsorge stattfindet.…”