Accepted for/Published in: JMIR mHealth and uHealth
Date Submitted: Mar 4, 2021
Date Accepted: Jun 17, 2021
Diagnostic Accuracy of Smartphone-based Audiometry for Hearing Loss Detection: A Meta‐analysis
ABSTRACT
Background:
Hearing loss is one of the most common disabilities worldwide and impacts both individual and public health. Pure tone audiometry (PTA) is the gold standard for hearing assessment but is often not available in many settings given its high cost and demands on human resources. Smartphone-based audiometry may be equally effective and improve accessibility to adequate hearing evaluations.
Objective:
This systematic review synthesizes current evidence of the role of smartphone-based audiometry in hearing assessments and further explores the factors that influence its diagnostic accuracy.
Methods:
Five databases were queried to identify original studies that examined the diagnostic accuracy of hearing loss using smartphone-based devices with conventional PTA as a reference test. Bivariate random effects meta-analysis was performed to estimate the pooled sensitivity and specificity. Factors associated with diagnostic accuracy were identified using a bivariate meta-regression model.
Results:
Twenty-five studies with a total of 4470 patients were included in the meta-analysis. The overall sensitivity, specificity, and area under the curve (AUC) of smartphone-based audiometry were 89%, 93%, and 0.95, respectively. Patient age, equipment used, and presence of soundproof booths were significantly related to diagnostic accuracy.
Conclusions:
We presented comprehensive evidence regarding the effectiveness of smartphone-based tests in diagnosing hearing loss. Smartphone-based audiometry may serve as an accurate and accessible approach to hearing evaluations, especially in settings where conventional PTA is unavailable.
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Copyright
© The authors. All rights reserved. This is a privileged document currently under peer-review/community review (or an accepted/rejected manuscript). Authors have provided JMIR Publications with an exclusive license to publish this preprint on it's website for review and ahead-of-print citation purposes only. While the final peer-reviewed paper may be licensed under a cc-by license on publication, at this stage authors and publisher expressively prohibit redistribution of this draft paper other than for review purposes.