Smartphone threshold audiometry in underserved primary health-care contexts

Area of Science:

• Audiology
• Digital Health
• Public Health

Background:

• Hearing loss is a significant global health issue.
• Access to audiological services is often limited, particularly in underserved communities.
• Conventional audiometry requires specialized equipment and trained personnel, hindering widespread screening.

Purpose of the Study:

• To validate a calibrated smartphone-based hearing test.
• To assess the accuracy of smartphone audiometry in a sound booth environment.
• To evaluate the performance of smartphone audiometry in primary health-care clinics without a sound booth.

Main Methods:

• A repeated-measure within-subject study design was used.
• Smartphone air-conduction hearing thresholds were compared to conventional audiometry.
• 94 subjects were assessed in sound booth and primary health-care clinic settings.

Main Results:

• In sound booths, smartphone audiometry showed high agreement with conventional thresholds (80.6% within ±10 dB).
• In primary care clinics, smartphone audiometry demonstrated excellent agreement (92.9% within ±10 dB).
• Average threshold differences were minimal in both settings (-1.6 dB in sound booth, -1.0 dB in clinic).

Conclusions:

• Calibrated smartphone-based audiometry is accurate for air-conduction hearing tests.
• The smartphone hearing test is effective in both controlled sound booth environments and real-world primary health-care clinics.
• This technology offers a viable solution for hearing assessments in underserved communities, improving accessibility to audiological care.