STUDIES AT A GLANCE

New scientific studies summarized for you

Study: Teletherapy after cochlear implantation during the COVID-19 pandemic

(Original title: Teletherapie nach Cochleaimplnatation in der COVID-19-Pandemie. HNO 2021; Völter C et al.)

Take home message:

Tele-rehabilitation after cochlear implantation constitutes an additional and useful alternative to conventional rehabilitation for adult cochlear implant users and was very well accepted.

Background:

COVID-19 required the introduction of off-site alternative hearing rehabilitation for adults after cochlear implantation. After on-site fitting of the audio processor in the cochlear implant centre, a 6 to 24 months auditory rehabilitation therapy is recommended for best benefit. This used to be done in inpatient or outpatient rehab facilities.

COVID-19 forced both clinics and patients to switch to digitalised rehabilitation via teletherapy. Video therapy as part of post-CI rehabilitation was evaluated, with a special focus on program usability, therapist-patient relationship and satisfaction with rehab exercises (“therapeutic alliance”) as well as technical implementation.

Method:

• 42 adult cochlear implant users
• 5 rehabilitation specialists
• During the video rehab sessions consultation and exercises were done orally, with a chat function additionally integrated, either on smartphones, tablets, laptops or computers.
• After thorough instructions, patients had individual trainings once a week, running for 45 minutes each over a period of 5 weeks.
• Questionnaires for patients and therapists were used to assess usability of the program, therapist-patient relationship and training quality. Furthermore, costs for the clinic as well as patients were evaluated.

Results:

Usability of the teletherapy rehab program was rated very high both by therapists and patients.

Therapeutic alliance was rated equally high, the vast majority of patients was able to reach their training goals and most patients did not show reservations towards their therapist, even when seeing them online only.

From an economic perspective, patients saved money and travel time to the CI centre. On average, therapists invested slightly more time per patient to prepare sessions than in an onsite setting, which in turn, incurred slightly higher costs for the clinic.

Overall, the remote rehabilitation setting was highly accepted both by adult CI users and therapists. Studies need to be performed to determine the long-term efficacy of remote video rehabilitation.

Read the study here: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00106-021-01124-y