App-Based Hearing Screenings in Family Practice May Improve Hearing Disorder Diagnosis
Background and Goal: Pure-tone audiometry, the gold standard for assessing hearing impairment, is costly and time-consuming. This study evaluated the acceptability and feasibility of hearing screening in the routine practice of private family medicine using two self-tests.
Study Approach: 516 consecutive patients aged older than 10 years attending three private French family-practice clinics wore calibrated Bluetooth headphones and completed two tablet-based hearing tests: SoTone, which measures pure-tone thresholds, and SoNoise, which assesses speech recognition in noise.
Main Results:
Of 516 patients eligible for screening, 219 (42%) completed the screening.
On average, it took six minutes and eight seconds for consent, instruction, and completion of testing.
Of the 219 people screened, 59 (27%) screened positive for some hearing impairment and were referred to an ENT specialist. Only 16 patients ultimately followed up, 14 of whom had confirmed hearing loss, and 8 received a prescription for hearing aids.
Why It Matters: The findings from this study show that tablet-based hearing tests may help general practitioners improve the diagnosis of hearing disorders.
Hearing Screening in Private Family Practice Medicine Using Tablet Applications
Jean-Charles Ceccato, et al
Montpellier Neuroscience Institute, University of Montpellier, Montpellier, France
The Annals of Family Medicine
30-Apr-2025