Abstract
BackgroundHearing impairment is the most frequent sensory deficit in humans, affecting more than 360 million people worldwide. In fact, hearing impairment is not merely a health problem, but it also has a great impact on the educational performance, economic income, and quality of life. Hearing impairment is therefore an important social concern.ObjectiveWe aimed to evaluate and compare the accuracy of self-perception, Hearing Handicap Inventory for the Elderly-Screening (HHIE-S) questionnaire, free-field voice test, and smartphone-based audiometry as tests for screening moderate hearing impairment in older adults in China.MethodsIn this study, 41 patients were recruited through a single otology practice. All patients were older than 65 years. Patients with otorrhea and cognitive impairment were excluded. Moderate hearing impairment was defined as mean hearing thresholds at 500, 1000, 2000, and 4000 Hz >40 dB hearing loss (pure-tone average > 40 dB hearing loss). All patients completed 5 hearing tests, namely, the self-perception test, HHIE-S questionnaire test, free-field voice test, smartphone-based audiometry test, and standard pure-tone audiometry by the same audiologist. We compared the results of these tests to the standard audiogram in the better-hearing ear.ResultsThe sensitivity and the specificity of the self-perception test were 0.58 (95% CI 0.29-0.84) and 0.34 (95% CI 0.19-0.54), respectively. The sensitivity and the specificity of the HHIE-S questionnaire test were 0.67 (95% CI 0.35-0.89) and 0.31 (95% CI 0.316-0.51), respectively. The sensitivity and the specificity of the free-field voice test were 0.83 (95% CI 0.51-0.97) and 0.41 (95% CI 0.24-0.61), respectively. The sensitivity and the specificity of the smartphone-based audiometry test were 0.92 (95% CI 0.60-0.99) and 0.76 (95% CI 0.56-0.89), respectively. Smartphone-based audiometry correctly diagnosed the presence of hearing loss with high sensitivity and high specificity.ConclusionsSmartphone-based audiometry may be a dependable screening test to rule out moderate hearing impairment in the older population.
Highlights
Sensory deficit is defined as a condition wherein any one of the senses, that is, sight, hearing, touch, taste, or smell is no longer functioning normally
The sensitivity and the specificity of the Hearing Handicap Inventory for the Elderly-Screening (HHIE-S) questionnaire test were 0.67 and 0.31, respectively
The sensitivity and the specificity of the free-field voice test were 0.83 and 0.41, respectively
Summary
Sensory deficit is defined as a condition wherein any one of the senses, that is, sight, hearing, touch, taste, or smell is no longer functioning normally. Hearing impairment is one of the most frequent sensory deficits in human beings, and it has a profound effect on the life of the affected persons, their families, and the society as a whole. The estimates are based on a review of 42 population-based studies carried out up to 2010 [3] Based on these studies, the World Health Organization estimated that there are 360 million persons in the world with disabling hearing loss. The prevalence of hearing impairment in adults over 65 years is the highest in limited-income countries. Hearing impairment is the most frequent sensory deficit in humans, affecting more than 360 million people worldwide. Hearing impairment is not merely a health problem, but it has a great impact on the educational performance, economic income, and quality of life.
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