title: Audiological practice in India: an internet-based survey of audiologists.
abstract: The field of Audiology in India has expanded exponentially in recent years. Audiologists practice in a variety of work places. However, little is known about the practice trends across these several work places. An Internet-based survey probing into Audiology practice was conducted between June and September 2012. The survey focused on four domains, namely, demography, assessment, hearing aid (HA) fitting and protocol usage. A total of 199 audiologists completed the survey. A large proportion of these audiologists were from Southern India. Majority of the respondents provide hearing assessment and HA services for children and adults. Results indicate diverse practice among respondents, even in essential procedures such as otoscopy. Although a large proportion of audiologists reported performing HA fitting in children as well as adults, less than 12 % of them performed real ear or simulated real ear verification during any HA fitting. Implications for the development of preferred practice guidelines in India have been discussed.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Health Sciences, National Centre for Audiology, The University of Western Ontario, London, ON N6G 1H1 Canada ; Audiology India, Registered Non-government Organization, Mysore, India.
authors.forename: Vijayalakshmi
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Easwar
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Health Sciences, National Centre for Audiology, The University of Western Ontario, London, ON N6G 1H1 Canada ; Audiology India, Registered Non-government Organization, Mysore, India.
authors.forename: Sriram
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Boothalingam
authors.affiliation: South of England Cochlear Implant Centre, Institute of Sound and Vibration Research, University of Southampton, Southampton, SO17 1BJ UK ; Audiology India, Registered Non-government Organization, Mysore, India.
authors.forename: Srikanth
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Chundu
authors.affiliation: Department of Vision and Hearing Sciences, Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, CB1 1PT UK ; Department of Behavioral Science and Learning, Linnaeus Centre HEAD, The Swedish Institute for Disability Research, Linköping University, 58183 Linköping, Sweden ; Audiology India, Registered Non-government Organization, Mysore, India.
authors.forename: Vinaya K C
authors.initials: VK
authors.lastname: Manchaiah
authors.affiliation: Amplifon India, Bangalore, India ; Audiology India, Registered Non-government Organization, Mysore, India.
authors.forename: S Mohammed
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Ismail
keywords: Audiology; Audiology in developing countries; Hearing aid fitting; Hearing loss; India; Preferred practice guidelines; Professional practice