3 Ways Teleaudiology Will Improve Your Life
Telehealth… Telemedicine… Teleaudiology… Are Teleawesome!
Things will never go back to how they were prior to COVID-19… not completely anyway. And while COVID-19 is a serious threat, I would dare say social distancing has had a greater impact on the majority of the world’s population.
Don’t get me wrong, protecting our community and our loved ones is the greatest priority, not just in the face of this pandemic but always. And yet, while social distancing helps prevent the rapid spread of the virus it creates a terrible sense of isolation and to many, especially our elderly population, it’s isolation similar to imprisonment.
Fortunately, modern-day technology provides alternative methods of connecting with friends and family and even your health providers now whether via FaceTime or any of the video conference platforms like Zoom. Please note, your healthcare provider should be using an eHealth platform specifically designed to better protect your privacy… I personally use Doxy.me.
Now you may still be cringing at the idea and reluctant to entertain the thought of figuring out how to actually use technology in this way, but let me assure you, it’s easier than it seems. And if you try it, well, you might just like it.
My business model for the last 17 years has been all about serving you in your hearing place. Getting to interact with you while assessing your hearing needs is the highlight of the job for me and I know the feeling is mutual. Social distancing has stolen this joy from us - Lord willing it will be short-lived.
But I have to admit, being forced into the 21st century’s technology has been a game-changer for me personally and professionally. Humor me a moment and I’ll show you why I think you might just come to embrace it too.
Easier, More Available Access
If we’re being honest, most of us feel like we could use a little more attention from our healthcare providers. And yet at times in life, we also feel like having an appointment takes just too much energy and time, especially if you have to coordinate transportation… not to mention the increased risks these days!
Of course, if you’re already one of my patients you know how wonderful and convenient it is to have your audiologist come to you. But still, sometimes you don’t need a full-scale appointment, you just have a few questions and need a little counseling or training which requires more than a phone call.
I understand how even the smallest hiccup with your hearing device can have a major impact on your day-to-day life. But with the use of video conferencing it’s far more realistic and reasonable to hope for a quick fix - figuratively and possibly even literally. So really, going online and having a face-to-face video conversation is a great way for us to meet a lot of your needs.
That is, apart from the actual hearing exam and hearing aid fitting. These tasks still need the in-person touch for now anyway. But as for me, I doubt I will ever adopt and utilize the technology once they roll it out. Why? Because I believe meeting you in your hearing place and face-to-face is the only way for me to truly get to know you and your needs.
Think of it this way, telecommunication opens up significantly more time for health providers to spend with each patient. Especially since I come to you, it takes me an average of two hours for every 60-minute appointment scheduled after factoring in travel time. So the reality is, by scheduling 15 or 30-minute video calls I could get nearly two days’ worth of appointments condensed into two hours. And you still get the time and attention you need.
Crazy right?!
Breaking the Barriers
Since COVID-19 is highly contagious, I certainly agree that face masks are an essential protective element. BUT if you’re hard of hearing this brings on a whole new set of challenges.
For example, imagine how challenging it can be to understand someone when their mouth is covered and muffled. You may not realize how much you rely on lipreading to understand what someone is saying. Then again, if you suffer hearing loss I’m sure you’ve likely recently discovered this. Never mind the discomfort and interference caused by the masks ear-loops if you’re using over-the-ear hearing aids.
And let’s not overlook the most obvious barrier right now of the “Stay Home Save Lives” initiative, especially for those of you who live in retirement and nursing homes where it’s essentially full-on lockdown. I get it, I do… but as your audiologist let me just let me say, I DO NOT LIKE IT ONE BIT!
Enjoy Connecting with Friends, Family… and Your Confidence!
I’m being serious. It’s time we show the world once and for all it’s possible to teach us old dogs new tricks. I mean no offense by this. Truthfully, I was right there with you. I’d just rather not have to fuss with learning new technology. But these last few months have shown me sometimes you really do have to innovate or die - figuratively of course.
The reality is we can learn and we do learn when we can see it’s an inherent value to our own livelihood. For example, if you or a loved one suffer from hearing loss there is significant motivation to learn to use a hearing device because it improves your quality of life.
The same can be said for figuring out how to connect by video calls whether it be with friends or family or your healthcare providers.
As a grandmother, missing my grandkids growing and developing is the worst part of this whole experience. But being able to hear their sweet voices and giggles as they run around telling me this or that, most of which I can’t understand myself, is still the greatest and makes this crazy time a little less isolating.
A Final Pep Talk on Making the Most of Telecommunications
Maybe you’re still a skeptic? And that’s ok.
But don’t just take my word as to the benefits teleaudiology has to offer us in this new era. eHealth has actually been around long enough now they’ve been able to study the impact it has on patient outcomes as well as patient satisfaction, among other things. And guess what… they’re finding it’s not just as good as face-to-face interactions but it can provide an even better experience when used effectively.[1]
More importantly, you must know no matter how it feels, you’re not alone! And remember it is better to give than receive - so, make somebody's day by asking them for help! Seriously… ask for help. If there’s one good thing I’ve noticed that’s come from this pandemic experience is people are hungry for connection and eager to help if they can.
You don’t have the technology? Odds are someone you know has an old smartphone or tablet they’d be willing to loan or even give you. You don’t even need to have it set up as an active line so long as you have wifi available.
You don’t know how to use technology? Again, you can always ask for help… or you could just turn on the power and trust that you’ve made it this far in life so surely you can play around with it until you figure it out… or break it, but that’s actually really hard to do! In fact, if you mess it up bad enough you can always start over by doing a factory reset.
And once you do get it figured out, there’s not much to do besides relax and enjoy! Even if you can’t fully understand everything that’s being said, cherish the smiles, laughter, and basic connection.
Don’t allow yourself to be a victim of this pandemic nor technology. We can do this together!
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