Language-Independent Hearing Screening Based on Masked Recognition of Ecological Sounds.

Area of Science:

• Audiology
• Hearing Science
• Speech and Language Pathology

Background:

• Hearing loss is a growing public health concern, particularly in children.
• Existing hearing screening methods can be time-consuming and require specialized equipment.
• There is a need for accessible, language-independent hearing assessment tools.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and evaluate the Sound Ear Check (SEC), a language-independent, tablet-based hearing screening test.
• To assess the feasibility and reliability of the SEC in adults and young children.
• To determine the SEC's ability to detect hearing loss and speech-in-noise difficulties.

Main Methods:

• The SEC utilizes masked recognition of ecological sounds presented adaptively in shaped noise.
• The test was evaluated in adults with normal and impaired hearing and piloted in children.
• Sound equalization and level adjustments were applied to ensure perceptual difficulty consistency.

Main Results:

• The SEC demonstrated high test-retest reliability (1-1.3 dB) and a steep psychometric function slope (16-18%/dB).
• SEC sound reception thresholds correlated significantly with pure-tone and speech reception thresholds (r=0.70-0.79).
• The test achieved ~70-80% sensitivity and specificity for detecting mild-to-moderate hearing loss and speech-in-noise issues.

Conclusions:

• The Sound Ear Check (SEC) is a reliable and feasible language-independent hearing screening tool for children and adults.
• SEC effectively identifies individuals with audibility and signal-to-noise ratio impairments.
• The SEC's short duration and tablet-based format offer potential for widespread hearing screening.