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Evaluation of a hearing screener

The objectives of the present study were to evaluate the compatibility of the hearing screener with pure tone audiometry and its capacity to predict the need and benefit of HAs. The device is a low-cost, easy to handle and safe instrument. It screens at 1 and 3 kHz at three different intensity levels. The outcome of the screen is categorized into six groups according to the number of tones heard and related to eventual fitting of HAs. One hundred and fifty persons (300 ears), with a median age of 65 years (range 20–86 years), consented to a hearing screen prior to pure tone audiometry, which was performed as part of the routine evaluation in the department. A comparative analysis of the pure tone audiometric thresholds and the screen thresholds showed that 27% of ears deviated >10 dB and 4%> 20dB at 1 kHz. At 3 kHz a deviation of >10dB was found in 34% and >20dB in 18%. The screen sensitivity was 92% related to persons and 89% related to ears, whereas the screen specificity was 65% and 62%, respectively. A PPV of 87% was indicated. The benefit of HAs was assured by the IOI-HA and SADL total scores of 3.9 and 4.0, respectively, with significant differences in the scores of the IOI-HA between the screened true and false positives. It is concluded that the screener has potential for use in developing countries and can be used as an alternative lean service delivery in developed countries.