Jul 23
2018
4 Hearing Health Trends ENT Doctors Should Know
Ear, nose and throat (ENT) doctors handle a variety of cases and prescribe treatments based on what’s readily available. As technology continues to evolve and impacts the healthcare industry in not too subtle ways, ENT doctors will need to learn about new methods and approaches in their practice.
New innovations are paving the way towards more effective solutions to hearing loss. Sure enough, practitioners and healthcare providers are investing a great deal in technology as a means to satisfy new demands for better treatment plans. It’s only a matter of knowing which of these technologies can provide greater disruption in the field of ENT health.
With that being said, here are the most important technological trends ENT doctors will have to adopt.
The use of mobile apps
Mobile applications are becoming prevalent. This is made evident by the fact that nowadays there are apps for basically any purpose. Going beyond the field of financial services and education, there are now apps that cater towards specific medical needs.
For ENT doctors, apps are being developed to make it more efficient for practitioners to monitor, test, and adjust hearing aids for their patients. For instance, the ReSound app allows users to adjust the settings of their hearing aids using their mobile phones. The technology proves to be advantageous for older patients who want to address the deterioration of their hearing and lead a life with sound.
Popularity of cochlear implants
To address the long-term damages in the inner ear, ENT doctors rely on cochlear implants to restore hearing. Ever since they became a popular solution among hearing loss patients, cochlear implants have often been too expensive for many.
However, with recent innovations in ENT technology, these implants have become increasingly viable to patients. With that being said, the treatment is beginning to enjoy massive adoption by practitioners and health care providers. Moreover, it has become easier for patients to purchase accessories such as cochlear implant batteries from an increasing number of online stores that are selling to this market.
Effective time management
Even though medical technology has made it easier for doctors to manage their time, they still need to address long patient queues and maximize their activities to cover all cases in the waiting list. As always, time management has always been a complex problem being handled not only by practitioners, but hospitals as well.
In this sense, there is still a need to adopt better patient management systems. Luckily, there are productivity apps and workflow management software that can help doctors keep track of their patients and ensure optimum serviceability in their practice.
CT imaging
New diagnostic tools are also enjoying greater adoption by ENT doctors. One such innovation is the use of CT imaging to map out the sinus cavity as well as the inner ear. This allows doctors to effectively create an accurate image of the sinus cavity and determine possible solutions for chronic sinus problems.
One thing’s for sure — with the continued popularity of CT scanning, ENT medical practice will no doubt enter more advanced areas such as 3-D animation to further improve diagnostics.