Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on audiology practice: A scoping review

BACKGROUND: COVID-19 has significantly impacted the professional practice of health care professionals including audiological practice. Audiologists had to adopt to changes and modify their practice to deal with the pandemic. Reasonable published work has been seen since the onset of the pandemic, depicting impact on the audiology practice across the globe in different practice settings and contexts. The present scoping review was carried out to explore the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on audiology practice and the challenges faced. MATERIAL & METHODS: A literature search was carried out to identify the studies exploring the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on audiology practice. Three electronic databases namely Scopus, PubMed/Medline, and Cochrane Library were searched using keywords. After title and abstract screening, suitable studies were identified. RESULTS: Of the total 172, nine studies focusing on impact of COVID-19 pandemic on audiology practice COVID-19, published between January 2020 to June 2021 were included. Overall, the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent restrictions, caused changes in routine clinical practices in audiology. These changes were with respect to stringent infection control measures, mode of service delivery, changes in routines with reduced services or prioritizing services. Challenges included issues with remote services, experience, and support. CONCLUSION: The present review reveals the changes in audiology practice during COVID –19 and challenges encountered by audiologists. These findings would help in better planning of audiology practice in the post pandemic world.