The following is a summary of “Neonatal hearing screening using a smartphone-based otoacoustic emission device: A comparative study,” published in the January 2024 issue of Pediatrics by Madzivhandila et al.

Researchers conducted a retrospective study investigating the efficacy of smartphone-based applications (apps) as tools for identifying hearing loss, particularly in the context of newborn hearing screening (NHS).

They compared the screening outcomes of a smartphone-based otoacoustic emission (OAE) device, hearOAE, with those of the commercially available Otodynamics ILO V6. Conducted in the post-natal maternity ward and neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) of two tertiary public healthcare hospitals over 8 months, 

The results showed 176 infants (n = 352 ears; 48.9 % female) undergoing NHS.he hearOAE demonstrated higher signal-to-noise ratios (SNR) in TEOAE NHS, as well as equivalent or higher SNR in four out of six frequencies with DPOAEs. Notably, the hearOAE exhibited significantly lower mean and total noise levels compared to the Otodynamics. Inter-device comparison indicated no statistically significant difference in the refer rate between the devices for DPOAEs, and while DPOAE pass rates differed in six ears, the hearOAE demonstrated a higher TEOAE pass rate in 20 ears. Although the hear OAE exhibited lower noise levels, no statistically significant correlation was found between the independent variables and the screening outcome (pass/refer) for TEOAEs using either device. The study demonstrated a high concordance of NHS outcomes within participants (89.7 % for DPOAE and 85.0 % for TEOAE). The findings support the efficacy of the mHealth-based OAE device, suggesting its comparable performance to a commercially available device. 

They concluded that validation opens avenues for increased accessibility to decentralized NHS services, particularly beneficial in resource-constrained populations.

Source: sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0165587624000168