By Megan Haley

This article is a part of the September/October 2023, Volume 35, Number 5, Audiology Today issue

There are not enough audiologists or hearing instrument specialists to address the ever-increasing demand for hearing-health care. Nearly 80 percent of individuals with hearing loss do not have access to hearing care, as they live in regions with a shortage of working audiologists and hearing- care professionals (D’Onofrio and Zeng, 2022). 

According to a 2013 study conducted by Windmill and Freeman, the number of people entering the audiology field would need to increase by 50 percent immediately, while attrition rates would need to be reduced to 20 percent to satisfy the U.S. population needs for hearing-health care. 

Tele-audiology can reduce hurdles encountered by patients and providers. For patients, tele-audiology removes distance as a barrier to patient-care delivery. For hearing-care providers, tele-audiology can boost efficiencies in providing care by optimizing their schedules and enabling hearing tests to be conducted from anywhere—free from the constraints of a physical clinic. Learn about tele-audiology by connecting with SHOEBOX.

References

D’Onofrio KL, Zeng FG. (2022) Tele-audiology: current state and future directions.” Front Digit Health  3:788103.

Windmill IM, Freeman BA. (2013) Demand for audiology services: 30-year projections and impact on academic programs. J Am Acad Audiol 24(5):407–416.

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