Self-administered hearing loss screening using an interactive, tablet play audiometer with ear bud headphones

Area of Science:

• Pediatric audiology
• Medical device technology

Background:

• Acquired hearing loss in children significantly impacts development.
• Traditional audiological assessments present technological and logistical challenges.
• A novel tablet audiometer, "ShoeBOX Audiometry," was developed to address these challenges.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the screening capability of a tablet audiometer in an uncontrolled environment.
• To assess its performance using consumer ear-bud headphones for pediatric hearing screening.

Main Methods:

• Recruited consecutive pediatric patients (age 4+) at a children's hospital.
• Assessed hearing using a tablet audiometer with calibrated headphones.
• Compared tablet-obtained thresholds to traditional audiometer measurements in a soundbooth.

Main Results:

• 80 patients completed the assessment; most were capable of using the tablet.
• Excluding 500Hz, the tablet audiometer showed 91.2% sensitivity and 89.7% negative predictive value.
• Thresholds at 500Hz were inconsistent due to ambient noise outside the soundbooth.

Conclusions:

• Tablet audiometer thresholds in uncontrolled settings are not diagnostic.
• The device is a valid and sensitive tool for unsupervised screening of pediatric hearing.
• Further refinement may be needed for diagnostic accuracy in noisy environments.