A study of reliability and response patterns in self-administered audiometry for adult first-time hearing-aid users

Out-of-clinic diagnostics offer the advantage of pre- and post-clinical screenings and potential benefits of increased user ownership, but at the possible cost of accuracy and reliability. The present study examines the determination of a classical audiometric threshold through a custom-made self-administered tablet test, utilizing off-the-shelf Bluetooth headphones. The test includes an initial familiarization session allowing characterization of the user's response time, and integrates a standard usability assessment (System Usability Scale, SUS) accompanied by the experimenter's observations and exit-interview responses. The study compares self-administered thresholds determined in the waiting room of Aalborg University Hospital for 16 potential hearing-aid users with the thresholds determined by the professionals in the subsequent session. The study also includes a comparison of thresholds determined in potential users' own homes, in which case the test is performed both with a standard transportable audiometer and with the out-of-clinic tablet system. The study is on-going.