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Identifying hearing loss early in older adults with a smartphone app
What is it about?
Hearing loss is common in older adults but is often missed during routine health checks. We tested whether a simple smartphone app could screen for hearing loss more accurately than the methods currently used in primary care clinics in Chile, including standard check-ups and asking patients if they have trouble hearing. The smartphone app correctly identified 9 in 10 people with mild hearing loss and almost everyone with moderate hearing loss, outperforming other methods. Patients and health staff also found the app easy and acceptable to use, suggesting it could help detect hearing loss earlier in everyday primary care contexts.
Why is it important?
Most hearing screening apps have been validated in hospitals with trained specialists and controlled, quiet environments. We tested one directly in everyday primary care clinics in Chile, administered by regular nursing staff in standard exam rooms, reflecting real-world conditions. This is also one of the first studies to formally measure how acceptable such screening is to both patients and staff. With hearing loss screening recommended by the WHO but rarely implemented in primary care, our findings offer practical evidence for scaling up early detection in under-resourced and constrained health systems.