Identifying hearing loss at an early age is one of the keys to early and successful interventions for children with hearing loss. However, the machines required to do the necessary tests (otoacoustic emissions [OAE] or auditory brainstem response) in the newborn period cost thousands of dollars, making them cost prohibitive in settings with few resources.
This week, Pediatrics is early releasing an article that discusses a less expensive option. The article by Nada Ali, MD, and colleagues at University of Washington and Carnegie Mellon University is entitled, “An Open-Source Smartphone Otoacoustic Emissions Test for Infants” (10.1542/peds.2024-068068).
The authors tested a smartphone-based OAE device with a US$10 probe to screen 76 infants and compared the results with a traditional OAE device.
The results are impressive:
- Both devices had 100% sensitivity and nearly 100% negative predictive value.
- Specificity and positive predictive value were also comparable for the 2 devices.
Of note, the testing was done in a group of infants who were seen in ambulatory clinics (craniofacial medicine, otolaryngology, audiology) where there is a high prevalence of hearing loss. More testing will need to be done in a general population to validate these findings.
However, these findings are promising for those who practice in settings where resources are constrained, both in the US and abroad.
