Accuracy of smartphone hearing tests: a comparative study with traditional pure tone audiometry

Abstract

BackgroundHearing impairment, a widespread sensory deficit, disproportionately affects low- and middle-income countries. Various hearing assessment methods exist, each with limitations. Pure tone audiometry (PTA), the gold standard, is subjective, unsuitable for children, expensive, and requires expertise. Smartphone hearing tests are emerging as cost-effective, user-friendly alternatives, but they cannot measure bone conduction and occasionally yield false thresholds.AimThis study aims to compare smartphone-based hearing tests with PTA in patients at the Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital’s ENT Clinic.MethodsA cross-sectional descriptive study enrolled participants aged 18 and above, including those with normal hearing and varying degrees of hearing loss. Each participant underwent a smartphone hearing test, screening PTA, and diagnostic PTA. The results were analyzed using SPSS version 22.ResultsThe study included 92 subjects (184 ears) aged 18–68 years. Smartphone tests accurately detected 94.3% of ears with normal hearing and 97.5% of ears with hearing loss based on screening PTA. At higher frequencies, the smartphone detected 98.4% of ears with hearing loss, showing a strong positive correlation with PTAv results. At speech frequencies, the smartphone detected 100% of ears with hearing loss, again showing a positive correlation. At lower frequencies, the smartphone detected 73% of ears with hearing loss, showing a positive correlation but with a significant statistical difference.ConclusionThe smartphone hearing test exhibited a strong positive correlation with screening PTAv in hearing assessment, without a statistically significant difference. This suggests that smartphone hearing tests could serve as a viable alternative for hearing assessments, particularly in low-resource settings. This research has implications for improving access to hearing healthcare in resource-constrained regions.