Abstract
The continuous advancements in technologies supporting digital health and digital
therapeutics (DTx) bring new possibilities to the field of audiology. This study considers
a new DTx for tinnitus called Tinnibot and the willingness of a group of Australian
university audiology students to consider this new DTx in their future careers as
practicing audiologists. A single-group case-series design (pretest/posttest) was
used to examine the opinions of 10 university audiology students before and after
participating in a 2-hour information workshop on the topics of tinnitus, DTx, cognitive
behavioral therapy, and a new digital therapy tool for tinnitus called Tinnibot. Student
knowledge levels of the main topic areas increased from poor (before the workshop)
to moderate to high after the workshop, with 40% of participants reporting they would
very likely use digital therapies for future patients. A common barrier to improving
this rating was the need for direct hands-on training on the DTx before the students
would be confident to recommend the DTx to patients. Incorporating direct training
on DTx into university audiology programs would allow greater uptake of DTx by students
as they begin their careers as practicing audiologists.
Keywords
digital therapeutics - tinnitus - educational workshop
