Telehealth: verification of the effectiveness of an orientation program and audiological counseling for adults through teleconsultation

Abstract

Objective: This study aimed to verify the effectiveness of guidance and counseling of patients with hearing disabilities, users of individual hearing aids (HA), through teleconsultation. Method: The sample consisted of 23 users of hearing aids. Patients were organized into groups separated by locality and participated in three sessions of audiological orientation through teleconsultation. Inventory selfassessment IOI-HA was used to verify the user’s behavior change after the intervention group at distance. We evaluated the seven dimensions of the instrument: daily use, benefit, limitation of daily activities, satisfaction, participation restriction, impact on others and quality of life, pre- and post-intervention. Results: It was found that the counseling program was effective for the monitoring of individual hearing device users, since significant changes were observed (p-value = 0.039 <0.05) in the level of satisfaction. The results signaled that the therapeutic support using teleconsultation with adult / elderly favored behavior change. Conclusion: The use of teleconsultation for guidance and auditory group counseling proved to be an effective and viable tool for new adult users of individual hearing aids