Tele-audiology has continually expanded over the last fifteen years to allow people with hearing loss to access services when, where, and how it suits them best. Telehealth has become an essential component of high-quality audiological services, and is a salient opportunity for hearing care professionals to extend person-centered care.
The Ida Institute has launched a new University Course module entirely dedicated to tele-audiology. The module helps educators guide students in an exploration of what tele-audiology is, why it is important, and what forms it can take. The practical activities and tools provided enable students to create a concrete plan for implementing tele-audiology in their own context and inspires them to consider how tele-audiology might benefit their clients at different stages of readiness for action.
“Our tele-audiology university course will help people operationalize telehealth services in very practical terms,” says Ida Senior Audiologist and course co-developer, Cherilee Rutherford. “With this new resource I believe that Ida will lead the way in the first wave of real implementation, by providing highly practical and detailed suggestions for clinicians to try with their clients.”
The Ida institute has developed the tele-audiology University Course module in collaboration with lead author Frances Lockhart, Specialist Audiologist and Clinical Coach at Australian Hearing, Australia’s largest government-funded service providing hearing care, rehabilitation, and technologies. Frances has more than ten years of experience developing and implementing processes, procedures and training in tele-audiology.
De Wet Swanepoel, Professor at the Department of Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology at the University of Pretoria, South Africa contributed expertise in app technology and ensured course content has international scope.
In addition to the new University Course module, Ida will also launch a free online course on tele-audiology in the Ida Learning Hall. This course, which is intended for use by already-practicing hearing care professionals and students looking to study tele-audiology outside of the classroom, is due out later this fall.