Telefitting of cochlear implant during the coronavirus epidemic

Abstract

　　Cochlear implant (CI) users who live in rural regions experience several limitations in receiving adequate care, including high travel costs and time away from work or school. The current telemedical technology is expected to resolve these disparities in providing access to medical care. The number of rural CI centers in Hokkaido is very limited; therefore, there is an urgent need to improve CI center access in rural settings. We consider CI fitting well-suited to telemedicine, especially in Hokkaido. Telefitting technology may be a potential viable alternative to local MAPping, and an overwhelming majority of participants responded with positive feedback. Although the Nucleus Fitting Software (NFS) could not operate each electrode serially and create precise MAPping, and could only save one MAP, the Custom Sound Pro released on September 2020 overcame these weaknesses, and based on our experience, we believe that telefitting technology is a potential viable alternative to local MAPping. In addition, telefitting saves travel time and cost for CI users. Thus, telefitting of CI would appear to be superior to conventional methods, especially during natural disasters or in the present the spread of pathogens such as, including the current pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2.