EFFICACY OF SMARTPHONE-BASED SCREENING BY TEACHERS FOR EARLY IDENTIFICATION OF HEARING LOSS IN SCHOOL CHILDREN

Introduction The high prevalence of hearing impairment in school children highlights the need for regular school screening programs. However, lack of professionals and infrastructure can create a barrier for screening all children. Smartphones present an opportunity for school teachers to be trained to perform hearing screening among students. The current study aimed to determine the efficacy of smartphone-based hearing screening by school teachers. Material and methods The participants comprised 580 students, from grades 1 through 5 from various schools in Dharwad city. The children were screened by trained school teachers using the smartphone-based app Hearing Test developed by e-audiologia.pl. To test validity, the same children were again tested by a professional audiologist using a diagnostic clinical audiometer. Results The results of the current study found small but significantly higher mean thresholds across frequencies using the Hearing Test app compared to the diagnostic audiometer. However, thresholds obtained using both devices were within normal limits of –10 to 15 dB HL. Hence, it might be possible for the Hearing Test app to be used for hearing screening in primary school children. Conclusions After training, it appears feasible for school teachers to utilize the Hearing Test app to screen for hearing loss in school children. This could make hearing screening more routine and cost-effective, and may aid in the early detection of hearing loss. However, it appears that hearing thresholds established by teachers using the app were slightly worse than those established by an audiologist using an audiometer.