Predictive validity and reliability of adult hearing screening techniques.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate and compare the efficacy of hearing screening tools to identify hearing loss in the older adult population. The test-retest reliability of both the AuDX DPOAE hand-held screener and subjective otoscopic ratings of percent earwax accumulation were evaluated. Additionally, the predictive validity was investigated for five hearing screening tools: the DPOAE hand-held screener, pure-tone screening, screening otoscopy, self-assessment of communication, and case history screening.