Audiology Connections - 2021 - 17

  AUDIOLOGISTS ADAPT DURING COVID-19

Audiologists Adapt During COVID-19
In the spring of 2020, all our lives
changed. Following are stories of
several ASHA members-audiologists
in different practice settings-who faced
challenges, adapted, and embraced
creative solutions to keep serving
patients who needed their help.

A. TUCKER GLEASON,
PHD, CCC-A
Associate Professor of
Otolaryngology and Neurology,
Director, Audiology and Vestibular &
Balance Center, University of Virginia
When responding to the question
of " How have things changed for
you because of COVID-19? " , my
initial thought was that other than
the " COVID couture " (aka, personal
protective equipment [PPE]), nothing

much has changed about our
practice. But on further reflection
with colleagues, we do recognize
several meaningful changes. Our
story begins in late March 2020,
when all ambulatory clinics in our
medical center were required to limit
appointments only to those patients
with an urgent medical issue. We
divided our audiology staff into teams
and took turns being in the office so
that if one provider became ill, we
wouldn't all have to be quarantined.
Our scheduling staff worked tirelessly
to schedule and reschedule patients as
pandemic news evolved. Every phone
call included listening to our patients'
fears about coming to an appointment
and reassuring them-while trying not
to let their fears multiply our own. This
added to the stress, especially for our
schedulers who were talking with
our patients all day, every day, for
weeks on end. In anticipation of
reopening our clinic, we changed
provider schedules to increase
appointment availability, not
only for new referrals but also for
the hundreds of patients whose
appointments we had canceled.
The day after the revised schedules
were set up, we were told that we
had to furlough 25% of the staff
audiologists for 3 months. Again,
we took turns. With the help of our
schedulers, we had done such a
good job of packing our schedules
that our furloughs were canceled
after just 4 weeks.
Now that everyone is back in the
office and we have returned to our
pre-COVID schedules, the lingering
changes that we notice relate to
the look of our office and the feel of
our visits with patients. Distancing

requirements have resulted in limiting
the number of chairs in our waiting
room. Since we don't have a place to
store the chairs that we can't use, we
have signs and caution tape on all but
a few of the chairs in the waiting room.
Our office no longer looks welcoming
and comfortable. We as professionals
don't look especially welcoming or
comforting, either, with our masks,
goggles, gloves, and gowns. Visitor
restrictions required by the medical
center are such that only those people
who have an appointment can enter
the building, and the absence of family
support during our appointments
has been distressing for many of our
patients. We notice that our encounters
with patients often begin on a bit of
an adversarial note when we have to
say, " No, your spouse can't come with
you, " or " Yes, you have to keep your
mask on the whole time. " It's hard to
establish a positive rapport with this
kind of a start. We know we've always
had professional responsibilities for our
patients, but now we feel a sense of
responsibility for the basic safety of our
patients AND their families. The weight
of this additional obligation has been
surprising, particularly when we're
faced with a patient who doesn't want
to wear a mask-which happens more
often than you'd think.

asha.org/aud 2021 AUDIOLOGY CONNECTIONS  

 17
http://www.asha.org/aud
Audiology Connections - 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Audiology Connections - 2021
