eHealth Technologies Enable more Accessible Hearing Care

Abstract

Hearing loss is a pervasive global health care burden affecting up to one in every seven persons of whom 90% reside in low- and middle-income countries. Traditional service-delivery models are unable to support and promote accessible and affordable hearing care in these setting. Major barriers include a severe shortage of hearing health care professionals, costs associated with equipment, facilities and treatments, and centralized service-delivery models. Convergence of digital and connectivity revolutions are combining to enable new ways of delivering decentralized audiological services along the entire patient journey using integrated eHealth solutions. eHealth technologies are allowing nonprofessionals in communities (e.g., community health workers) to provide hearing services with point-of-care devices at reduced cost with remote surveillance and support by professionals. A growing body of recent evidence showcases community-based hearing care within an integrated eHealth framework that addresses some of the barriers of traditional service-delivery models at reduced cost. Future research, especially in low- and middle-income countries, must explore eHealth-supported hearing care services from detection through to treatment.

ENT from afar: Opportunities for remote patient assessment, clinical management, teaching and learning

“…Recent advances in artificial intelligence (AI) diagnosis of images of the tympanic membrane are showing promise, 12,13 with the first clinically available AI classification system released last year as a beta version 14 . Pure tone audiometry conducted from a mobile phone using automated protocols and calibrated headphones has also demonstrated accurate results, and in combination, these technologies are paving the way for decentralised ear and hearing care through simple user‐interfaces that enable digital inclusion and incorporate quality control and remote support 15 …”

An mHealth App (Speech Banana) for Auditory Training: App Design and Development Study

“…With the World Health Organization estimating 466 million people with disabling hearing loss, the lack of accessible AT has become a substantial public health need [49]. Many hearing devices now connect to portable sound amplification products, including smartphones, which have achieved 99% global market penetration [50,51]. This presents an unprecedented opportunity to distribute AT to more people with hearing loss than ever before and to enable users to manage their own hearing health care.…”

Referral Criteria for Preschool Hearing Screening in Resource-Constrained Settings: A Comparison of Protocols

“…As a consequence, children in resource-constrained settings are rarely screened for hearing loss (Harris & Dodson, 2017;Levy et al, 2018;Mulwafu et al, 2016;Swanepoel & Clark, 2019;Wilson et al, 2017). Some of these challenges may be overcome by incorporating mobile health (mHealth) technologies and community-delivered hearing health care as these have the potential to decentralize and increase access to services in resource-constrained settings Jayawardena et al, 2020;Manus et al, 2021;Suen et al, 2019;Swanepoel, 2020;van Wyk et al, 2019;World Health Organization [WHO], 2021;Yancey et al, 2019). mHealth technology, such as the validated hearScreen application (hearX Group), offers an inexpensive and mobile alternative to conventional evaluations by utilizing calibrated headphones on low-cost smartphones, employing a simple user interface (Mahomed-Asmail et al, 2016;Sandström et al, 2016;Swanepoel, 2020;Swanepoel & Clark, 2019;van Tonder et al, 2017;Yousuf Hussein et al, 2016.…”

“…Some of these challenges may be overcome by incorporating mobile health (mHealth) technologies and community-delivered hearing health care as these have the potential to decentralize and increase access to services in resource-constrained settings Jayawardena et al, 2020;Manus et al, 2021;Suen et al, 2019;Swanepoel, 2020;van Wyk et al, 2019;World Health Organization [WHO], 2021;Yancey et al, 2019). mHealth technology, such as the validated hearScreen application (hearX Group), offers an inexpensive and mobile alternative to conventional evaluations by utilizing calibrated headphones on low-cost smartphones, employing a simple user interface (Mahomed-Asmail et al, 2016;Sandström et al, 2016;Swanepoel, 2020;Swanepoel & Clark, 2019;van Tonder et al, 2017;Yousuf Hussein et al, 2016. Key enabling factors in these mHealth supported screening models are the utilization of community health workers (CHWs) and automated screening applications with preset protocols and advanced quality control measures that enable CHWs with minimal training to undertake screening (Dawood et al, 2020;Eksteen et al, 2019;Manus et al, 2021;O'Donovan et al, 2019;Swanepoel, 2020;van Wyk et al, 2019;WHO, 2021).…”

“…mHealth technology, such as the validated hearScreen application (hearX Group), offers an inexpensive and mobile alternative to conventional evaluations by utilizing calibrated headphones on low-cost smartphones, employing a simple user interface (Mahomed-Asmail et al, 2016;Sandström et al, 2016;Swanepoel, 2020;Swanepoel & Clark, 2019;van Tonder et al, 2017;Yousuf Hussein et al, 2016. Key enabling factors in these mHealth supported screening models are the utilization of community health workers (CHWs) and automated screening applications with preset protocols and advanced quality control measures that enable CHWs with minimal training to undertake screening (Dawood et al, 2020;Eksteen et al, 2019;Manus et al, 2021;O'Donovan et al, 2019;Swanepoel, 2020;van Wyk et al, 2019;WHO, 2021).…”