Audiology and oral health professional students: An interprofessional education collaboration

Audiology knowledge is important for oral health professionals because patients may present with hearing loss or temporomandibular joint dysfunction with referred pain to the ear. Additionally, their occupational environment may negatively affect their own hearing. An interprofessional learning experience for dental (DDS), dental hygiene (DH), and audiology students was created to increase DDS and DH students' knowledge of the audiology profession, risks to their own hearing, and communication with hearing-impaired patients. This study's purpose was to evaluate this new educational experience.

In 2018, audiology students presented information to DH and DDS students about audiology and offered optional supervised hearing screenings. DDS and DH students were surveyed to assess their self-rated knowledge level on audiology topics (e.g., audiology profession, hearing assessment, noise-induced hearing loss, and communicating with hearing impaired patients) before and after the educational sessions, as well as to evaluate their learning experience. Audiology students received didactic and hands-on instruction by DDS and DH students and faculty on performing a head and neck exam and making appropriate referrals.

The response rate was 48% (n = 57). Students' reported knowledge on all topics significantly improved (P < 0.05) after the educational program. The majority, 86%, agreed that this experience should be added to the curriculum, and 92% reported it increased their understanding of the importance of collaborating with other health professionals.

This experience increased students' knowledge of the audiology profession and understanding of hearing loss, while also increasing their appreciation of interprofessional education.