Abstract
Hearing loss is among the most common causes of disability worldwide. Measuring extended high frequency (EHF; 10 – 16 kHz) thresholds may identify hearing loss sooner than standard frequencies (.25 – 8 kHz). Automated smartphone audiometry solutions are emerging as a tool to reduce the cost of and increase access to hearing healthcare. This study examined the validity and reliability of hearTest® smartphone-based EHF audiometry.
A repeated-measures within-subject design was used to compare hearing thresholds measured by hearTest® to conventional EHF audiometry using a clinical audiometer in a sound-treated booth. A total of 11 student musicians were included in the study (mean age of 24 years; 54.5% males, 45.5% females). There were no statistically significant (p < .05) average differences between smartphone and conventional thresholds in 16 of the 20 frequencies tested. The majority (80.5%) of thresholds differed by 5 dB or less. However, 8 of the 11 participants had at least one threshold outside the acceptable margin of error. All the thresholds tested differed by less than 10 dB on average. Strong or moderate positive correlations were noted for most same-day and separate-day test-retest reliability calculations.
On average, the hearTest® application provided accurate and repeatable results within a clinically acceptable margin of error. While the small sample size may have contributed to a lack of significant validity and reliability at some frequencies, the results of this study demonstrate that smartphone audiometry is a cost-effective and valid method of hearing threshold measurement.