Abstract
Objectives This study aimed to demonstrate a new modified hearing screening method that can rapidly screen hearing and provide stratified test values for each screened ear of children. Methods The proposed Hearing Scale Test (HST) and pure-tone screening (PTS) were applied to 384 school-age children. PTS involved applying four test tones to each tested ear: 500 Hz at 25 dB, and 1000, 2000, 4000 Hz at 20 dB; and classifying the results as “pass” (normal hearing in the ear) or “fail” (possible hearing impairment). The HST employs ten stratified hearing scales from S 1 to S 10, with each hearing scale containing four test tones and where adjacent scales differ from each other by 5 dB, ranging from 0 dB ( S 1) to 45 dB ( S 10). The four test tones of hearing scale S 5 are the same hearing criteria and the median reference standard of the stimulus level in the HST. Scales S 1– S 5 on the HST are equivalent to a PTS “pass” result, while S 6– S 10 and no response (NR) are equivalent to a PTS “fail” result. Results The two screening methods produced comparable “pass” and “fail” results. In the HST, the “pass” results were further stratified as S 1 in 4 ears, S 2 in 52 ears, S 3 in 226 ears, S 4 in 272 ears, and S 5 in 169 ears, while the “fail” results were stratified as S 6 in 23 ears, S 7 in 12 ears, S 8 in 1 ear, S 9 in 2 ears, S 10 in 5 ears, and no response (NR) in 2 ears. The hearing screening results of the HST are interpreted as follows: scales S 1– S 5 indicate normal hearing, scales S 6 and S 7 indicate possible hearing impairment, and scales S 8– S 10 and NR indicate confirmed hearing impairment. Conclusions Conventional PTS only gives a pass/fail result for each screened ear, lacks hearing status assessment, and lacks stratified test values to be recorded for follow-up. In contrast, the HST has stratified hearing scales for each screened ear, which reflects the current hearing status and provides test values that can be recorded for follow-up.
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