Medical Devices: Evidence and Research (Apr 2024)
The Hearing Test App for Android Devices: Distinctive Features of Pure-Tone Audiometry Performed on Mobile Devices
Abstract
Marcin Masalski1,2 1Department of Biomedical Engineering, Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, Wroclaw, Poland; 2Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Wroclaw Medical University, Wroclaw, PolandCorrespondence: Marcin Masalski, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, 27 wybrzeże Stanisława Wyspiańskiego street, Wroclaw, 50-370, Poland, Tel +48 515 086 252, Fax +48 71 328 36 96, Email [email protected]: The popularity of mobile devices, combined with advances in electronic design and internet technology, has enabled home-based hearing tests in recent years. The purpose of this article is to highlight the distinctive aspects of pure-tone audiometry performed on a mobile device by means of the Hearing Test app for Android devices. The first version of this app was released a decade ago, and since then the app has been systematically improved, which required addressing many issues common to the majority of mobile apps for hearing testing. The article discusses techniques for mobile device calibration, outlines the testing procedure and how it differs from traditional pure-tone audiometry, explores the potential for bone conduction testing, and provides considerations for interpreting mobile audiometry including test duration and background noise. The article concludes by detailing clinically relevant aspects requiring special attention during testing and interpretation of results which are of substantial value to the hundreds of thousands of active users of the Hearing Test app worldwide, as well as to users of other hearing test apps.Keywords: mobile audiometry, self-testing, hearing threshold, hearing test app
