TeleAudiology in the Veterans Health Administration.

Objective: To assess effectiveness of TeleAudiology for hearing aid services. Study Design: Retrospective case-control. Setting: Ambulatory Veterans Health Administration and Community-Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOCs). Patients: 42,697 veterans who received hearing aids from January through September, 2014. Intervention(s): TeleAudiology (TA) and conventional in-person (IP) audiology care. Main Outcome Measure(s): International Outcome Inventory for Hearing Aids (IOI-HA) outcomes data. The IOI-HA is a 7-item survey used to assess hearing aid effectiveness. Scored from 7 to 35 points, higher scores are more favorable. Results: Among veterans nationwide who received hearing aids and completed the IOI-HA survey, 1,009 received TA and 41,688 received IP care. TA and IP groups have comparable mean IOI-HA values (TA = 29.6, SD = 3.9; IP = 28.7, SD = 4.2). Although comparison showed a statistically significant difference (p 0.05, t test). Conclusion: TA and IP encounters to provide hearing aid services to veterans are comparable, as both are highly effective based on IOI-HA results. The noninferiority of TA suggests its adoption to non-veterans may improve access while preserving high satisfaction. Financial impact of migration to TA will require future econometric analysis. Copyright (C) 2016 by Otology & Neurotology, Inc. Image copyright (C) 2010 Wolters Kluwer Health/Anatomical Chart Company

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