Audiology Education Research Articles

Is the audiology education process effective on professional self-esteem and career decision-making self-efficacy?

Is the audiology education process effective on professional self-esteem and career decision-making self-efficacy?

Graduate Audiology Education and Student Perspectives on Over-the-Counter Hearing Aid Devices

Purpose: While hearing care professions recently submitted commentary about proposed regulatory guidelines for over-the-counter (OTC) hearing aids, educational considerations were not highlighted much. This article examines audiology education regarding OTC devices, specifically addressing how graduate curricula may incorporate the topic and examining graduate audiology students' perspectives on proposed OTC regulations. Graduate audiology curricula include a wide breadth of core classes and several specialized courses. The topic of OTC devices may fit well within graduate coursework focused on Professional Issues, Public Health, or Practice Management. This article presents the curricular option implemented at a mid-Atlantic university, including a brief course description, module overview for the OTC topic, and two related assignments. Graduate audiology training with a public health focus will generally address the core functions, assessment, policy, and assurance, which facilitates a topic such as OTC devices. This educational framework also optimized the examination of graduate students' views by qualitative analysis of assignment responses ( n = 21) from audiology students. Thematic analysis of data revealed four themes with respective subthemes and categories. Major themes are examined in a discussion highlighting the perspectives of audiology graduate students. Conclusions: Regular teaching course audits facilitate curricular changes and may incorporate professional topics that are new, controversial, and/or in the development phase to optimize audiology curricular transformation. Analyzing student perspectives on current topics, such as OTC devices, provided an avenue for immersing public health audiology concepts into graduate training with an overall goal to improve equity and inclusion in clinical practice. The topic of OTC devices was appropriate for educating future audiologists.

Practical and ethical considerations for neurodiversity inclusion in audiology education and practice

Background. An increasing number of people who are neurodiverse (people who have conditions such as autism, ADHD, and dyslexia) are pursuing higher education, including education and employment in the field of audiology Methods. This conceptual article was written by neurodivergent professionals to promote a cultural shift of inclusion for students, clinicians, researchers, and professors who identify as neurodivergent. Findings. People with these conditions thrive with supportive accommodations in higher education and workplaces but little has been reported in the literature on neurodiversity accommodations in audiology education and practice Conclusions. This article reviews the current literature on neurodiversity as it relates to audiology and discusses the practical and ethical considerations for neurodiversity inclusivity in the discipline of audiology.

Adopting Change and Incorporating Technological Advancements in Audiology Education, Research, and Clinical Practice.

With the rapid development of new technologies and resources, many avenues exist to adapt and grow as a profession. Embracing change can lead to growth, evolution, and new opportunities. Audiologists have the potential to harness many of these technological advancements to improve patient health care. Adoption and incorporation of these new technologies will likely benefit educational experiences, research methods, clinical practice, and clinical outcomes. This commentary highlights some historical perspectives and accepted practices while illustrating opportunities to embrace new ideas and technologies. We also provide examples of how such adoption may yield positive outcomes. Specifically, we address embracing technology in audiology education, how artificial intelligence may influence patient performance in realistic listening scenarios, the convergence between hearing aids and consumer electronics, and the emergence of audiology telehealth services and their inclusion in clinical practice. Models of change are also discussed and related to audiology. This commentary aims to be a call to action for the entire profession of audiology to consider conscientiously the adoption of useful, evidence-based technological advancements in education, research, and clinical practice.

Virtual audiology education tools: A survey of faculty, graduate students, and undergraduate students.

Due to global shifts at educational institutions from in-person courses to online formats caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the current study aimed to estimate whether currently available virtual audiology education tools are helpful for acquiring necessary audiology skills and knowledge from the perspective of both educators and students. Therefore, a remote survey was developed and distributed to faculty and students in undergraduate communication sciences disorders and graduate audiology programs. Although participation was somewhat limited, the trends observed in the survey results suggested that the majority of both educators and students found the subset of virtual tools easy to use, that these tools improved teaching methods and learning outcomes, and that these tools would likely be used again.

Coupling Hearing Health With Community-Based Group Therapy for Cognitive Health in Low-Income African American Elders

Purpose: To address disparities in the domains of hearing health and cognitive health experienced by African American elders in early stages of cognitive-communicative decline, a cognitive stimulation therapy (CST) group was established. The group intervention was coupled with comprehensive audiology services. This clinical focus article describes the features of the program, its implementation, and outcomes from its first cohort of participants. Method: CST is an evidence-based group intervention for elderly individuals living with mild-to-moderate dementia. The program was designed to (a) adapt and then apply CST to a target group of low-income African American elders and (b) integrate audiology services and education about hearing health and hearing loss in the context of CST therapy. In partnership with two community health centers in North St. Louis, a CST group was established for 12 elderly African American clients with cognitive-communicative impairments as measured by standardized assessments. During weekly group sessions, culturally informed activities and discussions were conducted with input from staff and participants to stimulate social interaction and cognition. Health topics relevant to age-related sensory and cognitive decline were introduced, with emphasis on management of common chronic diseases such as diabetes that are known to be associated with increased risk of hearing loss. Free hearing health services were provided, including screenings and, as needed, full audiological evaluations, cerumen management, otolaryngology referrals, hearing aids, and aural rehabilitation. Results: Participants' self-administered ratings and self-generated comments indicated meaningful increases in actionable knowledge about both hearing and cognitive health that led to enhanced utilization of available health services. They also suggested that audiology services were paramount to their enthusiastic adherence to the combined CST–audiology program. Conclusion: Interlinking of interventions for hearing and cognition reduced common barriers to care for this target group of low-income African American elders with cognitive-communicative impairments.

Public Health Frameworks in Audiology Education: Rationale and Model for Implementation

Purpose: Hearing health care is a public health priority at the national and global levels, yet training in clinical audiology programs lacks formal public health education. The purpose of this review article is to discuss audiology concepts in terms of the public health framework of assessment, policy, and assurance and describe two approaches for implementing public health frameworks into audiology doctoral programs. Method: This review article provides a review of audiology concepts through the framework of public health and discusses the rationale for why public health concepts are critical to achieving population-level objectives in hearing health care. We compare competencies of audiology and public health education and then provide a model for two methods for implementing public health education into audiology doctoral programs: (a) formal integration of public health concepts into existing coursework or curricula and (b) a dual doctor of audiology (AuD) and master's in public health (MPH) degree track. Conclusions: Public health is present in the field of audiology, and the field has many public health objectives; however, audiologists do not receive the training necessary to recognize public health concepts or meet population-level objectives. Educating future audiologists in public health concepts will provide them with the tools needed to work with other hearing professionals to make population-level advances in hearing health care. A subset of students may want to become experts in public health and wish to pursue a dual AuD/MPH track.

Comparison of Domestic and Foreign Audiologist Education Status and Qualification System

Audiologists are experts in providing specialized treatment for evaluating and managing hearing loss through hearing technology. The purpose of this study is to review the education status of major foreign countries regarding the training of audiologists, their certification management systems, and the audiology education regulations according to international standards; this study compares these with the domestic (i.e., Republic of Korea) education status, certification management system, and audiology education regulations. The regulations, reports, and official documents related to domestic and overseas regarding audiology systems were reviewed and compared. The domestic audiologist education and qualification system is in fair conformity with foreign countries and international standards, but there are areas that need to be improved. If the domestic audiologist qualification system is improved to comply with advanced foreign national audiologist qualification systems and international standards, it will be possible to cultivate a more professional domestic audiologist workforce.

Effectiveness of Simulation Training on Graduate Audiology Students' Auditory Brainstem Response Testing Skills.

Purpose Simulation is a tool commonly used in the clinical training of students within the health professions fields, such as medicine and nursing. The effectiveness of simulation as a teaching technique has been extensively documented in numerous health care professions; however, little is known about the effectiveness of simulation techniques in audiology education. This study assesses the effectiveness of a simulation activity focused on auditory brainstem response (ABR) testing conducted with students of an applied doctoral program in audiology. Method Twelve 2nd year audiology graduate students enrolled in the auditory electrophysiology course at Towson University in Fall 2018 participated in this pre-post study. Over a 3-week period, each student (a) received didactic instruction in ABR testing, (b) underwent a presimulation exercise skills assessment, (c) participated in a simulation exercise, and (d) underwent a postsimulation exercise skills assessment. Results Significant improvements were observed in clinical skill level for the ABR tasks evaluated in terms of both accuracy and efficiency (time in seconds needed to complete the task). The tasks evaluated included skin preparation, identification of scalp electrode placement sites, and scalp electrode placement in a variety of configurations (single- and two-channel arrays, horizontal and vertical electrode montages). Benefits associated with simulation-based instruction varied by clinical skill as well as by student. Conclusions The data described in this study reinforce the need to incorporate simulation in audiology training programs, especially for complex clinical skills. It also emphasizes the need for additional research that can be useful in the design and implementation of simulation-based exercises.

Accessible Audiology Education, Part 3: Impact of Hearing Loss on Motivation and Self-Efficacy of AuD Students

Accessible Audiology Education, Part 3: Impact of Hearing Loss on Motivation and Self-Efficacy of AuD Students

Functional and Communication Needs Assessment

Functional and Communication Needs Assessment

Accessible Audiology Education: Examining Self-Disclosure and Terminology Preferences of DHoH Students

Accessible Audiology Education: Examining Self-Disclosure and Terminology Preferences of DHoH Students

Audiology Education Amid COVID-19

Audiology Education Amid COVID-19

Postgraduate Specialization Fellowship Training for Audiologists: Survey Results From Educators, Supervisors, and Students.

Purpose From the Audiology Education Summit held in 2017, several working groups were formed to explore ideas about improving the quality and consistency in graduate education in audiology and externship training. The results are described here from one of the working groups formed to examine postgraduate specialization fellowships. Method Over the course of a year, the committee designed and implemented two surveys: one directed toward faculty and one toward students. The rationale for the survey and the results are presented. Comparisons between faculty and student responses are made for similar questions. Results Overall, the results demonstrate that the majority of both students and faculty believe that postgraduation specialization fellowships are needed for either 1 year or a flexible length. There was a consensus of opinion that the fellowship should be paid, as these would be designed for licensed audiologists. Most believed that the fellowships should be "governed by a professional organization (e.g., American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, American Academy of Audiology, American Doctors of Audiology, etc.)," or less so, a "separate body for this specific purpose." Potential topics for specialization identified were the following: tinnitus, vestibular, cochlear implants, pediatrics, and intraoperative monitoring. The highest priority attributes for a specialization site were "abundant access to patient populations," "staff of clinical experts," and "active research." The weight put toward these attributes differed between faculty and students with faculty prioritizing "university/academic centers," and "access to academic coursework in the fellowship area." The faculty rated "caseload diversity," "minimum hours," "research," and "academic affiliation" as requirements for a fellowship site, with less weight for "coursework" and "other." Finally, the students valued "improved personal ability to provide exceptional patient care," "the potential for increased job opportunities," and the "potential for a higher salary" as benefits most important to them, with lower ratings for "recognition as a subject matter expert" or "potential pathway to Ph.D. program." Conclusions As a result of the survey, further exploration of a postgraduate specialization fellowship is warranted, especially to determine funding opportunities to offset cost for the sites and to ensure that fellows are paid adequately.

Communication between Audiologist, Patient, and Patient's Family Members during Initial Audiology Consultation and Rehabilitation Planning Sessions: A Descriptive Review.

Communication during clinical consultations is an important factor that facilitates decision-making by patients and family members. For clinicians, these interactions are opportunities to build rapport and to facilitate appropriate decision-making. This article presents the literature review of studies focusing on communication between audiologist, patients, and their family members during initial audiology consultations and rehabilitation planning sessions. A literature review was conducted. The review included eight empirical studies. A systematic search of the CINAHL Complete, MEDLINE, and PsychInfo databases was used to identify relevant articles for review. Quality of the included studies was assessed using the Rating of Qualitative Research (RQR) scale. The average consultation length was 57.4 min (ranged 27.3-111 min), in which the mean length of case history discussion was 8.8 min (ranged 1.7-22.6 min) and the mean length of diagnosis and management planning was 29 min (ranged 2.2-78.5 min). Utterances spoken by audiologists were greater (about 51%) than patients (37%), whereas family members spoke the fewest utterances (12%) during interactions. Patients raised concerns (typically psychological in nature with negative emotional stance) about hearing aids in half of the appointments where hearing aids were recommended as the rehabilitation option. However, audiologists missed opportunities to build relationships as these concerns of patients were not typically addressed. Also, audiologists' language was associated with hearing aid uptake (i.e., patients were less likely to uptake hearing aids when audiologists used complex language). The review highlights that audiologists dominate the conversation during audiology consultations and rehabilitation planning sessions. Audiologists did not take advantage of the opportunity to develop patient-centered communication and shared decision-making. Implications of these findings to both clinical practice and to audiology education and training are discussed.

Competing agendas and other tensions in developing patient-centred communication in audiology education: a qualitative study of educator perspectives

Objective: Patient-centred communication (PCC) is an essential skill for effective healthcare provision and is accepted as a core competency in medicine and allied health. In audiology, recent studies have shown that audiologists rarely display PCC in adult hearing interactions. This highlights a need to investigate how PCC is taught and learnt in audiology. There is a paucity of studies on PCC in audiology education. The aim of this study is to examine educator perceptions of teaching PCC, including barriers and facilitators, in Australian graduate audiology programmes. Design: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with audiology educators responsible for communication training. Interview transcripts were analysed using qualitative content analysis. Study sample: Nine participants, including programme coordinators and key teaching staff from all six Australian audiology programmes participated in the study. Results: PCC education was found to be influenced by four emerging themes: professional culture and values, contextual factors, knowledge and understanding of PCC and individual factors. Conclusions: These results provide an insight into the competing agendas involved in implementing PCC education in both the university and clinical component of audiology programmes. The findings can play a role in refining and building the evidence-base for teaching and facilitating patient-centred audiological care in future audiologists.

Aid for People With Hearing Loss

Aid for People With Hearing Loss

Acoustic standards in audiology education

Standards are essential for the practice of audiology. Microphones, sound level meters, and all calibration equipment and procedures depend on effective standards. Equipment and methods for assessing hearing function, and for the fitting and evaluation of sensory aids for hearing loss all require the development and refinement of good standards. The involvement of audiologists in standards development is essential for maintaining high quality professional service. Graduate students in audiology are introduced to standards from both American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and International Standards Organization (ISO) during their graduate education at the University of Minnesota. Particular areas include calibration, audiometry, hearing aids, cochlear implants, and noise measurement and exposure. Methods for incorporating standards into graduate education will be discussed.

Access Academics and Research Looks at Audiology Education

Access Academics and Research Looks at Audiology Education

Preference to Patient-Centeredness in Undergraduate Audiology Students in Portugal

In health care, the model of patient-centered care is growing; and improved outcomes have been linked to patient-centeredness. Practicing audiologists have been found to strongly prefer a patient-centered approach as years in practice increase. It is unknown whether patient-centeredness begins during education and training. The current study was aimed at understanding the preference to patient-centeredness in undergraduate audiology students in Portugal. The study used a cross-sectional survey design. One hundred and thirty-seven undergraduate audiology students completed patient-practitioner orientation scale (PPOS) and provided some demographic details. The data were analyzed using one-way analysis of variance and one-sample t tests. A significant difference was found for sharing subscale (p ≤ 0.001), caring subscale (p = 0.033), and the PPOS full scale (p ≤ 0.001) among different undergraduate groups. Further, post hoc tests showed that the difference between year 1 and with years 2, 3, and 4 were significant for sharing subscale and PPOS full scale, but not for caring subscale. No significant differences were observed among the years 2, 3, and 4 for sharing subscale, caring subscale, and for PPOS full scale. When compared audiologists' preferences from a previous study on audiologists with students' preferences in the current study, significant difference for both subscales and full scale was found between year 1 students and audiologists (p ≤ 0.001), with higher preference to patient-centeredness was reported by qualified audiologists. Also, significant difference was found between audiologists and overall undergraduate group for caring subscale (p = 0.001). The current study suggests that audiology education influences preference to patient-centeredness. Within a year of undergraduate coursework, students tend to develop high preference to patient-centeredness, which stays stable during four years of undergraduate studies. These results provide useful insights to audiology education and training, particularly in the context of audiological rehabilitation.