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Teleaudiometry: a low-cost method of auditory screening

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Author(s):
Victor Eulálio Sousa Campêlo
Total Authors: 1
Document type: Doctoral Thesis
Press: São Paulo.
Institution: Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Faculdade de Medicina (FM/SBD)
Defense date:
Examining board members:
Ricardo Ferreira Bento; Oswaldo Laercio Mendonca Cruz; Renata Cantisani di Francesco; Roberto Campos Meirelles; Francini Grecco de Melo Pádua
Advisor: Ricardo Ferreira Bento
Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Medicine
Indexed in: Banco de Dados Bibliográficos da USP-DEDALUS; Biblioteca Digital de Teses e Dissertações - USP
Location: Universidade de São Paulo. Biblioteca Central da Faculdade de Medicina; FM W4.DB8 SP.USP FM-1; C196te
Abstract

Introduction: Hearing deficiency interferes with the perception and recognition of speech. The benefits of auditory screening in newborns and schoolchildren have been well demonstrated. However, in developing countries, the availability of auditory screening programs has been restricted to larger facilities, due to the scarcity of equipment and specialized professionals in the majority of areas. Objectives: To develop a method of remote screening for the identification of individuals with hearing loss, as well as to determine its accuracy in comparison with that of sweep audiometry without a sound-treated booth. Design: The new screening method, designated teleaudiometry, consists of its own newly developed computer program, installed on a computer with supra-aural headphones attached. The study participants were randomly selected from among patients and their companions at the University of Sao Paulo School of Medicine Hospital das Clínicas, in Sao Paulo, Brazil. We selected 73 individuals between 17 and 50 years of age, 42 (57.5%) of whom were female. After completing a symptoms questionnaire and being submitted to otoscopy, the participants underwent teleaudiometry and sweep audiometry with a sweep of 20 dB at the frequencies of 1, 2 and 4 kHz following the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association protocol, as well as the gold-standard test of pure tone audiometry in sound-treated booth, in random order. Results: The teleaudiometry lasted, on average, 125 ± 11 sec, compared with 65 ± 18 sec for sweep audiometry. Of the 73 participants, 69 (94.5%) found it easy or quite easy to perform the teleaudiometry, compared with 61 (83.6%) for the sweep audiometry. Teleaudiometry and sweep audiometry presented, respectively, the following: sensitivity of 86.7% and 86.7%; specificity of 75.9% and 72.4%; a negative predictive value of 95.7% and 95.5%; and a positive predictive value of 48.1% and 55.2%. Conclusions: Teleaudiometry proved to be a viable option as a method of auditory screening, presenting accuracy similar to that of sweep audiometry. The use of teleaudiometry could increase the number of identified cases of hearing loss, thereby allowing more timely treatment of such cases in underserved populations (AU)

FAPESP's process: 06/04716-7 - Automatic teleaudiometry: a new hearing screening method
Grantee:Victor Eulálio Sousa Campelo
Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate (Direct)