A Survey Study of Audiology Services during the Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pandemic in South Korea

Abstract

Purpose: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has severely affected public health and people’s lifestyle. The purpose of this survey study is to investigate audiology services during COVID-19 pandemic to understand the current audiology service situations in Korea and to improve audiology services.Methods: A total of 120 participants (60 audiologists and 60 clients visiting audiologists) were surveyed in this study using online or face-to-face methods. The participants answered 24~25 questions including current status of audiology service, communication difficulties with wearing masks, and the provision of tele-audiology services during COVID-19.Results: The results showed that both audiologists and clients with hearing loss still preferred face-to-face audiology services in COVID-19 situation in spite of 56% of visiting schedule delay and cancellation. The primary audiology services they considered in COVID-19 were hearing aid fitting and maintenance & repair services. Wearing masks has led communication difficulties in both audiologists and clients with hearing loss due to speech level reduction, frequency filtering of sounds, and insufficient visual cues during the conversation. Only 30% of audiologists have provided tele-audiology services, and 4.4% of clients received tele-audiology services during COVID-19.Conclusion: The impacts of COVID-19 in audiology services in South Korea are still progressing. The technical and administrative systems and educational support to improve audiology services in South Korea are necessary.