Traditional PTA (pure-tone audiogram) hearing screening tests are administered in hospitals and medical centers by trained audiologists. PTA hearing screening tests use large equipment and require a soundproof booth or room for testing, and an audiologist is required to interpret the results of the test. But with AUDIMETROID, a hearing screening test can be delivered in any safe, quiet room, and anyone — including a person without any training in audiology — can safely interpret and deliver results with clinical levels of accuracy.
In this brief article, we’ll provide an overview of how AUDIMETROID works, explain how results are interpreted and deployed, and direct you to other resources that you might find helpful as you consider AUDIMETROID for community-based hearing testing.
How does AUDIMETROID work?
During a traditional PTA hearing test, sounds (‘pure-tones’) are delivered to a patient through headphones. The patient is asked to press a button or raise their hand every time they hear a sound. As the test progresses, an audiologist records the results on an audiogram, which is a visual representation of hearing performance. Finally, an audiologist analyzes these results and delivers them to the patient.
Alternatively, during a hearing test with AUDIMETROID, sounds (similar to ‘pure-tones’ used in PTA, presented from any random location around the patient’s head) are presented through a spatial testing paradigm, which is powered by a state-of-the-art statistical framework. During the exam, patients wear headphones and must turn their head and body to face the perceived direction of sound, before pressing a wireless button. The entire test is automated, and requires no administrative intervention – software is pre-installed and set-up is easy and fast.
To learn more about what happens during a hearing test with AUDIMETROID, and to see a video demo, just click here.
How are results with AUDIMETROID interpreted and deployed?
Clear, accurate results are available immediately following a hearing test with AUDIMETROID, and no analysis or interpretation is required.
During the exam, AUDIMETROID deduces — from a patient’s head movement — which sounds a patient heard, and which sounds they didn’t hear. Because a patient must localize the sound, it’s all but impossible for them to guess which direction a sound is coming from. With a traditional PTA hearing test, on the other hand, it’s possible for a patient to correctly guess whether a sound is being played; If they happen to press their button at the right moment, they will be recorded as having heard a sound which they did not actually hear. This is one of the key ways that AUDIMETROID reduces errors in hearing testing.
With AUDIMETROID, results are provided in a straightforward and easy-to-understand format that places patients into groups based on hearing ability, including normal hearing and hearing loss categories. This makes it easy to identify when a patient requires onward referral to an audiologist, which streamlines the entire care process and benefits hospitals and audiologists by essentially triaging patients. This also makes it easy to identify patients with mild to moderate hearing loss who might benefit from over-the-counter hearing aids.
In sum, it’s incredibly safe for someone without any training in audiology to deliver reliable hearing test results with AUDIMETROID. AUDIMETROID was engineered to take hearing testing outside of hospitals and into the capable hands of community healthcare providers and retailers, who are best-positioned to provide this critical healthcare to patients in the most accessible, most efficient way possible.
Further resources:
Our team has made it easy for you to learn more about AUDIMETROID: How it works, its unique benefits, and more. Here’s a few articles that we recommend you explore to gain a deeper understanding of AUDIMETROID and how it can improve accessibility to hearing testing and care in your community:
Learn more about how AUDIMETROID is changing the hearing healthcare landscape:
Three ways that AUDIMETROID is changing the way the world tests for hearing loss
Explore the wide-ranging and profound impact that hearing loss has on our communities:
The Impact of Hearing Loss on Other Diseases and Conditions, and How Community Healthcare Providers Can Help
Learn how AUDIMETROID can overcome barriers to hearing testing and care:
Three Obstacles to Uptake of Hearing Care and How AUDIMETROID Can Help
AUDIMETROID doesn’t just help community healthcare providers and retailers offer more accessible, more accurate hearing testing, it also helps drive uptake of OTC hearing aids. Here’s a few articles that we recommend you explore to learn more about this key intersection of hearing testing and care:
Review a practical guide on OTC hearing aids for community healthcare professionals:
Community Retailers and Healthcare Providers: What to Know About OTC Hearing Aids
Explore more about on-the-spot hearing testing and uptake of hearing care:
Boost Uptake of Hearing Care with On-the-Spot Hearing Testing with AUDIMETROID
AUDIMETROID is more than a hearing test. It’s a solution that’s designed to revolutionize the way that your community approaches this critical area of care.
When you’re ready, you can get in touch with a member of our team by clicking this link.