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Updated: Mar 25, 2026
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Published on: March 24, 2023
Implementation of uHear™--an iOS-based application to screen for hearing loss--in older patients with cancer
Michelle Lycke1, Tom Boterberg2, Evi Martens3
1Cancer Center, General Hospital Groeninge, Kortrijk, Belgium.
Objective:
Validation of uHear™ as a screening tool to detect hearing loss in older patients with cancer without a known diagnosis of presbycusis, as part of a Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment (CGA).
Materials And Methods:
Patients (≥70 years) with a histologically confirmed diagnosis of cancer, were enrolled at the time of CGA screening. Patients were evaluated by uHear™, which was compared to conventional audiometry as gold standard. We defined a pure-tone average (PTA) of ≥40dB HL as the pass or fail screening cut-off. Validation of uHear™ was defined in terms of diagnostic accuracy through Receiver Operating Characteristics (ROC)-analysis. To accept uHear™, we estimated that the Area Under the ROC-curve (AUC) had to differ significantly from 0.50 with an AUC of at least 0.70. The Whispered Voice Test and Hearing Handicap Inventory for the Elderly were also administered.
Results:
Thirty-three patients consented for participation. In one patient, the results of one ear were excluded from the analysis as the patient was documented with a known hearing disorder in that ear. Significant hearing loss, defined by a PTA of ≥40dB HL calculated from the air conduction thresholds at 0.5, 1.0 and 2.0kHz, was found in 15.4% of tested ears. uHear™ showed excellent diagnostic accuracy with an AUC±SE of 0.98±0.14. It provided maximum sensitivity (100.0%) but poor specificity (36.4%) at our predefined cut-off score of ≥40dB HL.
Conclusion:
uHear™ can be implemented as a screening tool to detect hearing loss in older patients with cancer within a CGA.
