COMPARATIVE STUDY OF AUTOMATED AND MANUAL AUDIOMETRY: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW
Keywords:
Automated Audiometry, Manual Audiometry, Noise-Induced Hearing LossAbstract
One of the significant global health issues is hearing loss. Consequently, the demand for hearing tests has increased substantially for both diagnostic and preventive purposes, such as monitoring noise-exposed workers. However, conventional manual audiometry, which requires trained healthcare professionals to conduct hearing assessments, may not adequately meet this growing demand. As a result, automated audiometry has been developed to allow hearing tests to be conducted automatically. This literature review found that automated audiometry provides comparable accuracy to manual audiometry, with differences in hearing threshold levels generally within 10 decibels. The sensitivity and specificity for diagnosing hearing loss range from 95–100% and 60–82%, respectively, depending on the test frequency and the device used. However, some studies reported statistically significant differences at higher frequencies, such as 4,000–8,000 Hz. The findings suggest that automated audiometry could be applied to health surveillance, especially in occupational health settings, to improve efficiency, reduce the workload of healthcare professionals and maintain validity of test results.
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