Hearing assessment method and system

Inventors

Levine, Steven Brian

Assignees

db Diagnostic Systems Inc

Abstract

A system and a method for a healthcare provider to easily, accurately and efficiently provide a hearing test and a pressure test, i.e., a hearing assessment, for their patients, in a way that accurately detects hearing loss and provides recommendations for seeking further assistance from qualified hearing health specialists is provided.

Core Innovation

The system enables a healthcare provider to administer a portable interactive patient hearing assessment using a hand-held, mobile hearing test device to transmit at least four distinct pure tone frequencies to a patient. The patient activates a hand-held, mobile input device upon hearing the at least four pure tone frequencies, and the input device transmits one or more signals indicative of the patient's response to a processor.

The processor processes the one or more signals indicative of the patient's response to the hearing test, issues one or more hearing test result signals based on the patient's ability to hear each of the at least four pure tone frequencies, and processes the hearing test result signals to determine the patient's hearing results. A tympanometer conducts a pressure test of each ear of the patient and indicates pressure test results, and the processor receives both the hearing-test response signals and the pressure test results to provide a report and recommendation.

The report and recommendation depend on combinations of the patient's hearing results, the pressure test results, and input by the healthcare provider that a physical exam of the patient's ears indicates normal bilaterally or not normal bilaterally. When the patient's hearing results indicate a hearing loss, and the pressure test results are normal bilaterally with normal bilaterally on physical exam input, the report and recommendation comprise a referral to an audiologist, while if pressure test results are not normal bilaterally and/or physical exam input indicates not normal bilaterally, the report and recommendation comprise a referral to an otolaryngologist.

In a case that the patient's ability to hear indicates a hearing loss, a simulator demonstrates effects of the hearing loss in an audible manner measured by the hearing test to a person accompanying the patient so that the accompanying person understands a scope of the patient's hearing loss. The hand-held, mobile input device collects demographic information identifying the patient for activation by the patient upon hearing the at least four pure tone frequencies and for transmitting one or more signals to the processor indicative of the patient's response to the hearing test.

Claims Coverage

The document provides three independent claims. Across these independent claims, there are inventive features concerning portable interactive threshold hearing testing with at least four distinct pure tone frequencies, processor-based determination of hearing results, integration of tympanometry pressure test results, simulator demonstration of hearing loss effects, conditional referral recommendations based on hearing results combined with bilateral pressure/physical-exam conditions, and demographic information collection.

Across the independent claims, the inventive coverage centers on a portable interactive hearing assessment system that uses a hand-held, mobile hearing test device transmitting at least four distinct pure tone frequencies and a patient-activated mobile input device providing response signals to a processor for determining hearing results. The system integrates a tympanometer pressure test of each ear and uses combinations of hearing results with bilateral normal/not normal pressure and healthcare-provider physical exam input to generate a report and referral recommendation, and it includes a simulator to audibly demonstrate hearing-loss effects to an accompanying person when hearing loss is indicated.

Stated Advantages

Documented Applications

No documented applications found