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Testing your own hearing has become a whole lot easier with (mostly free) programs that run on the iPad and iPhone.
It has been said that Apple's iPad is a game-changer in the technology world,allowing rapid development of technological solutions to many everyday problems via applications, known as "apps." There are more than 65,000 apps available at Apple.com's App Store, many of which are free or at most a few dollars.
For those who work in the hearing health care field, these apps have become tools for hearing tests. While self-administered hearing tests are nothing new (think Bksy audio metry), apps arguably allow a greater level of accessibility to the technology. Users should be aware that the accuracy of each of these tests is not yet known, as literature has not yet been published to compare them to a gold-standard hearing test. Perhaps at present most appropriate as a screening measure, they should not replace a visit to a qualified hearing health care professional. Users may feel more comfortable making an appointment after trying them out. Here is a quick review of four apps for the iPad as well as the iPhone and iPod Touch.
APP: Ear Trumpet by Praxis Bio Sciences
COST: $2.99
WHATYOU GET: This hearing application suite is meant to provide a hearing assessment as well as a means of sound amplification. It was created at the University of California, Irvine, and includes a "basic" and a "comprehensive"pure tone audiogram. The latter audiogram tests seven frequencies and takes approximately five minutes. The application provides results in a standard audiogram graph format, showing the hearing levels at each frequency. The application informs the user of their hearing ability, and then provides a sound amplification function, if needed. This consists of a volume amplification using the device's microphone and headphones. It contains sound filters that allow adjustment to reduce background noise and enhance common speech frequencies. Although this is a very creative application, its accuracy still remains to be verified. In addition, the microphone and headphone quality of the portable devices vary, which can potentially provide users within consistent results.
APP: RNID Hearing Check by the Royal National Institute for Deaf People
COST:Free
WHATYOU GET: This is an app version of a previously available, web-based hearing test created by RNID, a U.K. organization for people who are deaf or hard of hearing. The app tests speech discrimination in the presence of background noise. One creative feature of this program is that prior to allowing the test to begin, the app uses the device's microphone to test the noise level in the testing environment. Although it does not specify how loud an environment is acceptable, the program does not run when in the presence of even slight environmental noise. Once the environment is approved, the test consists of a voice saying three number combinations in the setting of varying levels of background noise. The listener has to enter the numbers in the space provided. The test takes approximately 10 minutes to complete, and the application provides a pass/fail result without any further information.Although the app description says that the test is scientifically verified, we could not locate published data supporting this claim.
APP:Siemens Hearing Test by Siemens
COST:Free
WHAT YOU GET: This app was designed to provide a quick (four to five minutes)hearing screening to identify people at risk for hearing loss, and then to direct them to the nearest locations that provide Siemens-made hearing amplification products. This hearing assessment tests speech discrimination in the presence of varying amounts of background noise. The program consists of a voice saying made-up words and asks the user to choose that word out of a series of words listed on the screen. This test is done against varying amounts of background noise. The result of the speech-in-noise test is given as pass/fail, and the user is then redirected to a map with nearby Siemens locations. This app claims to compare the user's result to that of the "average normal listener" and to have been tested to be accurate. However, we could not identify any data verifying this claim.
APP: uHear by Unitron Hearing Limited
COST:Free
WHAT YOU GET: This app offers multiple hearing assessment modalities. The most useful feature is its pure-tone audiogram to test hearing ability. This feature is easy to use and moves through the basic hearing test efficiently,taking a minimal amount of time to complete six minutes, according to the app.In addition, uHear also tests speech discrimination in the presence of background noise. The touch-screen dial allows the user to adjust the speech volume to an understandable level, and then the test adds layers of background noise. The app's third feature is a survey containing 12 questions meant to determine hearing ability in common listening situations. Combined, the three hearing assessments serve as a screening tool to notify the user of the possible need to see a hearing health care professional, with a hearing aid center locator included. The app is useful and easy to use, but note that the results of these assessments have not been validated against a standard audiogram.
Josef Shargorodsky, M.D., MPH, is an otolaryngologist at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary in Boston. He was the lead researcher in an August 2010 Journal of the American Medical Association study detailing a hearing loss spike among American adolescents.Brian J. Fligor, Sc.D., is the Director of Diagnostic Audiology at Children's Hospital Boston and an instructor in the Department of Otology and Laryngology at Harvard Medical School, in Boston. His publications include several studies on potential risk for hearing loss from using portable listening devices with headphones, as well as studies of risk factors associated with hearing loss and medical interventions, such as aminoglycoside administration and chemotherapy treatment.
