Development and verification of non-supervised smartphone-based methods for assessing pure-tone thresholds and...

Area of Science:

• Audiology
• Digital Health
• Hearing Science

Background:

• Smartphone-based hearing tests offer potential for non-supervised, rapid, and contactless assessments.
• Interest is growing in supra-threshold measures beyond traditional audiograms.
• Validation against supervised, standardized methods is needed.

Purpose of the Study:

• To validate smartphone-based hearing test methods against standardized laboratory assessments.
• To compare non-supervised smartphone methods with supervised manual audiometry.
• To assess the reliability of smartphone hearing tests for various audiological measures.

Main Methods:

• Pure-tone audiometry and categorical loudness scaling (CLS) were employed.
• Three conditions with varying supervision levels were compared.
• Narrowband monaural and broadband binaural noise stimuli were used for CLS to assess loudness summation.

Main Results:

• No significant distinctions were found between smartphone-based and laboratory-based hearing tests.
• Results indicate comparable performance across different supervision levels.
• The study demonstrated the feasibility of using smartphones for audiological assessments.

Conclusions:

• Non-supervised smartphone listening tests are a valid, reliable, and cost-effective option for pure-tone audiometry and CLS.
• Supra-threshold tests on smartphones can be robust against calibration issues and external noise.
• Smartphone audiometry offers a promising alternative for accessible hearing evaluations.