A Multicenter Validity Study of Four Smartphone Hearing Test Apps in Optimized and Home Environments

Pure tone audiometry (PTA) is the gold standard for hearing assessment. However, it requires access to specialized equipment. Smartphone audiometry applications (apps) have been developed to perform automated threshold audiometry and could allow patients to perform self-administered screening or monitoring. This study aimed to assess the validity and feasibility of patients using apps to self-assess hearing thresholds at home, with comparison to PTA.

A multi-center, prospective randomized study was conducted amongst patients undergoing PTA in clinics. Participants were randomly allocated to one of four publicly-available apps designed to measure pure tone thresholds. Participants used an app once in optimal sound-treated conditions and a further three times at home. Ear-specific frequency-specific thresholds and pure tone average were compared using Pearson correlation coefficient. The percentage of app hearing tests with results within ±10 dB of PTA was calculated. Patient acceptability was assessed via an online survey.

One hundred thirty-nine participants submitted data. The results of two at-home automated smartphone apps correlated strongly/very strongly with PTA average and their frequency-specific median was within ±10 dB accuracy. Smartphone audiometry performed in sound-treated and home conditions were very strongly correlated. The apps were rated as easy/very easy to use by 90% of participants and 90% would be happy/very happy to use an app to monitor their hearing.

Judicious use of self-performed smartphone audiometry was both valid and feasible for two of four apps. It could provide frequency-specific threshold estimates at home, potentially allowing assessments of patients remotely or monitoring of fluctuating hearing loss.

2 Laryngoscope, 134:2864-2870, 2024.