Application Of Teleaudiology Still In Its Infancy In Malaysia

KUALA LUMPUR, March 16 (Bernama) – The application of teleaudiology in the field of audiology is regarded as a promising approach to improve the quality of services and access to healthcare for the hearing-impaired. In Malaysia, the implementation of teleaudiology is still in its early stage and has yet to draw the attention of audiologists and patients.      Audiology deals with identifying and assessing hearing and balance function and their associated disorders. Teleaudiology makes use of information and communication technology to allow audiologists to provide follow-up services to their patients or clients remotely. According to Dr Mohd Fadzil Nor Rashid, who is a senior medical rehabilitation officer (audiology) attached to the Audiology Programme at Universiti Sains Malaysia’s (USM) health campus in Kubang Kerian, Kelantan, audiologists and the public are now, however, starting to give due consideration to teleaudiology as the COVID-19 pandemic has imposed restrictions on movements and face-to-face appointments with the relevant health experts. “Teleaudiology is now being seen as an alternative to delivering follow-up audiology services. In some countries, the audiologist would allow their patients to choose between face-to-face or long-distance (remote) consultations for their follow-up treatments,” he told Bernama in an e-mail interview recently. STUDY Mohd Fadzil Nor was among a group of researchers from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia who had previously carried out a study on teleaudiology in Malaysia. Their study covered the application of teleaudiology at the Ministry of Education’s Special Education Service Centres and involved students with special needs. The other researchers involved in the study were Dr Quar Tian Kar, Dr Nashrah Maamor and Dr Chong Foong Yen. The objective of their study was to look into the feasibility of implementing teleaudiology, as well as the validity and reliability of the tests done through the online sessions.     Mohd Fadzil Nor said in the implementation of teleaudiology, three approaches are used, namely synchronous, asynchronous and hybrid.   The synchronous approach is an interactive session between the audiologist and client via live video and/or audio connection. “Asynchronous refers to the approach of storing and forwarding or recording, where photos or data are sent to the audiologist for interpretation. Hybrid, meanwhile, refers to a combination of both the synchronous and asynchronous approach,” he explained. He said these approaches can be implemented directly between the audiologist and client, with or without the help of a facilitator. Similar to clinical audiology, teleaudiology is also divided into screening, diagnostic and hearing rehabilitation sessions. NO STATISTICS On the percentage of patients in Malaysia who have opted for teleaudiology services, Mohd Fadzil Nor said statistics were not available as the service was still new and a detailed study has to be carried out. “There are probably a few hospitals or companies dealing in hearing aids providing teleaudiology or moving towards that direction,” he said, adding that USM’s audiology clinic hopes to offer teleaudiology services in the first quarter of this year. He said if the first phase of implementation of its teleaudiology services turns out to be a success, the university would develop it further, as well as obtain more funding for it and collaborate with other potential agencies. “Before offering the service to our clients, we have to look into various factors such as ICT development, the readiness of our clients to accept teleaudiology and the type of services they require,” he added. Mohd Fadzil Nor also said USM has succeeded in applying teleaudiology in its teaching and learning sessions for its undergraduates pursuing the audiology programme, including in their clinical assessment. USM hopes to be the first university in Malaysia to apply teleaudiology in its teaching and learning, training and clinical examinations using real patients. “Various plans are being drawn up to expand the application of teleaudiology in Malaysia. But for this to happen, we need to have more collaborations between institutions and industries, and more funding too,” he added. Meanwhile, educational audiologist Ermy Yuliana Musa, who had worked at a Special Education Service Centre in Selangor, said these centres would benefit from teleaudiology as the Ministry of Education did not have enough audiologists to meet the needs of hearing-impaired students. To ensure the success of teleaudiology, proper training should be given to the patients or their facilitators to enable them to perform the necessary tests properly, she added. Translated by Rema Nambiar -- BERNAMA