hearScreen® - Digital hearing screening audiometer

The default protocol has been set to test 1, 2 and 4 kHz in both ears as prescribed by best practice standards as defined in the World Health Organization's (2021) document titled "Hearing screening: considerations for implementation". The user has the option to set his/her own protocol, with the following frequencies available for testing: 0.5, 0.75, 1.5, 2, 3, 4, 6 and 8 kHz.
There are two types of default protocols: "Default," which tests 1, 2, and 4 kHz in both ears, and "Default Severity," which includes the "Default" test and further performs threshold estimations around any failed frequencies to determine the degree of potential hearing loss.
Users also have the ability to create custom protocols and name them as desired. For instructions on how to add a custom protocol, please refer to the hearX Training Platform.

hearScreen® has a 'smart noise monitoring' function that makes use of the microphone of the smart device to detect environmental noise and provide a warning to the tester when the noise levels have exceeded safe levels that allow for reliable testing.

The smart noise monitoring is displayed on a bar at the top of the screen, which, similar to a traffic light, displays green when the noise is acceptable for reliable testing, orange as a warning and red when the noise levels are not safe for reliable testing.

In hearScreen, during a tester-administered screening, a false tone is presented to assess whether the tester is responding accurately to the patient's responses or attempting to influence the test results by skipping steps.

If the tester incorrectly responds to this false tone, they receive a negative Quality Index (QI) score. This score is averaged over a month. If no improvement is observed, the tester may undergo retraining until their QI score improves. Ideally, the QI score should be ≥80%.

The headphones must be "linked" the first time they are used with the app. During this linking process, an internet connection is required to download the calibration codes that associate the specific headphones with the account and the phone or tablet being used. Each time a user logs out and logs back into the app, the headphones must be linked again.

Once the headphones are linked, a verification process is required to confirm that the same headphones are still being used with the phone or tablet. This verification does not require an internet connection. The frequency of this verification can be adjusted in the app settings.

While our solution is built on commercially available off-the-shelf hardware, the smart device used for hearScreen is standardized to comply with specific industry standards. This standardization ensures that the device generating the pure tones for screening can be accurately calibrated. This calibration is essential to ensure that the decibel levels are precise and reliable. hearX cannot guarantee accurate or reliable sound levels on personal smart devices, as they have not been standardized and calibrated and therefore hearScreen cannot be installed on personal smart devices.

hearScreen®, hearTest, hearTest Occ Health, Vula Vision*, and hearX® STK need to be used within the mHealth Studio App, while hearScope can be used within the mHealth Studio App or as stand-alone applications. Please see the mHeath Studio FAQs for additional information: mHealth Studio FAQs

*Only available in South Africa