title: Sensitivity and specificity of portable hearing screening in middle-aged and older adults.
abstract: Introduction Hearing screening allows the identification of individuals with hearing loss. Aim To determine the sensitivity and specificity of a portable hearing screening device in middle-aged and older adults using the manufacturer scoring and a scoring system proposed by the researchers. Methods In this transversal study, participants underwent anamnesis, otoscopy, and hearing screening using portable equipment. After this, a pure tone audiometry was performed, with participants classified into two groups: with and without hearing loss. The sensitivity and specificity of the hearing screening were calculated for the right and left ears using two methods of interpretation: the original method recommended by the manufacturer (criteria 1) and the method proposed by researchers (criteria 2). Results The sample consisted of 55 individuals, 83.6% (n = 46) of whom were women. Per criteria 1, the sensitivities were 26.3 (right ear) and 21.4% (left ear). The specificity was 100% for both ears. Using criteria 2, the sensitivity was 94.7 (right ear) and 100% (left ear). The specificity was 74.3 (right ear) and 65.9% (left ear). Conclusion This study showed that the criteria proposed by the manufacturer presented low sensitivity in the hearing screening. The criteria proposed by the researchers to achieve a more efficient performance reached high and balanced values for sensitivity and specificity.
authors.affiliation: Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.
authors.forename: Carolina Louise
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Cardoso
authors.affiliation: Geriatrics and Gerontology Institute, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.
authors.forename: Ângelo José Gonçalves
authors.initials: ÂJ
authors.lastname: Bós
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Education, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.
authors.forename: Andréa Krüger
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Gonçalves
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery and Orthopedics, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.
authors.forename: Maira Rozenfeld
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Olchik
authors.affiliation: Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.
authors.forename: Leticia Sousa
authors.initials: LS
authors.lastname: Flores
authors.affiliation: Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.
authors.forename: Bruna Macagnin
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Seimetz
authors.affiliation: Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.
authors.forename: Magda Aline
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Bauer
authors.affiliation: Comunicare Hearing Aids, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.
authors.forename: Patricia Pérez
authors.initials: PP
authors.lastname: Coradini
authors.affiliation: Department of Developmental Psychology and Personality, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Institute of Psychology, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.
authors.forename: Adriane Ribeiro
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Teixeira
keywords: audiology; gerontology; hearing; mass screening; older adult