Hearing Tests Based on Biologically Calibrated Mobile Devices: Comparison With Pure-Tone Audiometry
Marcin Masalski1,2, Tomasz Grysiński2, Tomasz Kręcicki1
1Department and Clinic of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Faculty of Postgraduate Medical Training, Wroclaw Medical University, Wrocław, Poland.
JMIR Mhealth and Uhealth
|January 12, 2018
Summary
Mobile devices offer a viable method for hearing screening, showing high compatibility with traditional pure-tone audiometry. This approach supports large-scale hearing monitoring and early detection of hearing loss.
Area of Science:
- Audiology
- Mobile Health (mHealth)
- Biomedical Engineering
Background:
- Pure-tone audiometry is the standard for hearing screening.
- Mobile devices can be calibrated for hearing tests using reference sound levels.
- Manufacturer-provided headphones allow for model-specific reference sound level calculations.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare hearing thresholds measured by a calibrated mobile device with pure-tone audiometry.
- To evaluate the accuracy of mobile device-based hearing tests.
Main Methods:
- Recruited 70 Otolaryngology Clinic patients with Android devices and bundled headphones.
- Used the 'Hearing Test' app with model-specific reference sound levels for mobile measurements.
- Conducted audiologist-assisted self-measurements in a sound booth (250 Hz to 8 kHz).
Main Results:
- Mobile device hearing thresholds differed significantly from pure-tone audiometry (mean difference 2.6 dB).
- 89% of mobile-based results were within 10 dB of pure-tone audiometry.
- Sensitivity was 98% and specificity was 79% for the mobile screening method.
Conclusions:
- Mobile device hearing self-tests with bundled headphones are highly compatible with pure-tone audiometry.
- This method shows potential for large-scale hearing monitoring, screening, and epidemiological studies.
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