Automated smartphone audiometry: Validation of a word recognition test app.

Objectives/hypothesis: Develop and validate an automated smartphone word recognition test.

Study Design: Cross-sectional case-control diagnostic test comparison.

Methods: An automated word recognition test was developed as an app for a smartphone with earphones. English-speaking adults with recent audiograms and various levels of hearing loss were recruited from an audiology clinic and were administered the smartphone word recognition test. Word recognition scores determined by the smartphone app and the gold standard speech audiometry test performed by an audiologist were compared.

Results: Test scores for 37 ears were analyzed. Word recognition scores determined by the smartphone app and audiologist testing were in agreement, with 86% of the data points within a clinically acceptable margin of error and a linear correlation value between test scores of 0.89.

Conclusions: The WordRec automated smartphone app accurately determines word recognition scores.

Level Of Evidence: 3b. Laryngoscope, 128:707-712, 2018.