An Evaluation of a Continuing Education Workshop for Audiologists on the Assessment and Management of Tinnitus.

INTRODUCTION: Tinnitus assessment and management is an important component of audiology. The benefits of continuing education (CE) workshops in the field of tinnitus have not been published. This study evaluated the outcomes of a workshop centered around a Sound Therapy and Aural Rehabilitation for Tinnitus (START) framework. Our hypotheses were that a CE workshop would (1) be useful, (2) improve clinician's knowledge and willingness to undertake tinnitus practice, and (3) result in learners using knowledge gained in their practice. METHODS: Twenty-five participants attending a 3-day tinnitus workshop were invited to complete an evaluation immediately and 3 months after the workshop's completion. The workshop consisted of seminars and practical sessions. The pedagogical approaches employed were experiential (theory building, reflection, and testing) and community of practice (shared experiences). RESULTS: Participants reported on a 5-point Likert scale (1 = not useful-5 = excellent) a high level of satisfaction both immediately after the workshop (ratings of usefulness: mean, 4.8; SD, 0.4; willingness to practice: 4.6; SD. 0.6; ability to manage: 4.6; SD, 0.5; all "excellent" ratings) and 3 months later (ratings of usefulness: mean, 4.2; SD, 0.9, "very useful;" willingness to practice: 4.6; SD, 0.6, "excellent;" ability to manage: 4.1; SD. 0.5, "very useful"). Open-ended questions indicated participants made changes in their practice that reflected material provided in the CE. CONCLUSION: The workshop was successful in improving knowledge and confidence of audiologists in undertaking tinnitus assessment and management, but the need for ongoing support and supervision was a common theme.

Audiologist availability and supply in the United States: A multi-scale spatial and political economic analysis.

This study employs statistical modeling and mapping techniques to analyze the availability and accessibility of audiologists (practitioners who diagnose and treat hearing loss) in the United States at the county scale. The goal is to assess the relationships between socio-demographic and structural factors (such as health policy and clinical programs which train audiologists) and audiologist availability. These associations are analyzed at the county level, via a mixed effects hurdle model. At the county level, the proportion of older adults reporting difficulty hearing is negatively associated with audiologist supply. The findings show that audiologists tend to locate in metropolitan counties with higher median household incomes, younger populations, and lower proportions of older adults reporting hearing difficulty, suggesting an inverse care-type relationship between audiologist availability and need for hearing health services. Notably, neither state legislation requiring insurance plan coverage of hearing services for adults or Medicaid coverage of audiology services were significant predictors of audiologist supply at the county level.

Stories From the Webcams: Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center Audiology Telehealth and Pediatric Auditory Device Services.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this manuscript is to describe the regulatory, technological, and training considerations for audiologists investigating telehealth and to offer some examples of audiology services provided through telehealth. METHOD: The authors presented the regulatory components, the technology required for audiology staff and patients, and staff training for the audiology telehealth program at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center. Four case studies highlighting the successful use of telehealth in providing auditory device services to patients were also presented. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: The described regulatory, technological, and training hierarchy provides a framework for audiologists interested in starting a telehealth program. The cases presented illustrate that telehealth can be used to provide some auditory device services, such as troubleshooting, mapping, and parent consulting.