1. Ashley Richards, B.S., Beau Campa, B.S., Jiong Hu, Ph.D., Au.D.
Consumer to Patient: -- Measurement of A Novel Hearing Specific Listening Device and Early Identification of Hearing Loss
Ashley Richards, B.S.,
Beau Campa, B.S.,
Jiong Hu, Ph.D., Au.D.

2. Conflict of Interest
The authors and presenters have no affiliations with or involvement in any organization or entity with any financial interest or non-financial interest in the subject matter or materials discussed in this presentation.

3. Current advanced consumer electronics
Background
Current advanced consumer electronics
Headphones and/or earphones are everywhere
Airpods, Beats, Bose, etc.
Great sound quality and user comfort

4. Background
Manufactures trying new technologies to “customize” sounds to the individual consumers
Obtain “thresholds” from consumers
Improves sound quality, music appreciation, etc.
NuraPhone
Objective measurement: OAE
Even Headphones
Subjective measurement: short music pieces

5. “Personalized” consumer headphones Challenges
Background
“Personalized” consumer headphones
Challenges
Effectively and efficiently collect “thresholds” in not-so-quiet environment
At home, on bus, etc.,
Intuitive to use? How long would it take?
Accuracy of those “thresholds”
Compare to “real” thresholds?
Any ear advantage?
At different frequencies?

6. Utilizes a short music piece
Background
Even Headphones
Utilizes a short music piece
Narrow spectrum
Soft to loud
Patient presses button when audible
Obtain an “Ear Print”
Effectively an “audiogram”

7. Hearing health awareness
Background
Meanwhile
At least 20 percent of U.S. adults, at some point in their lives, have a significant communication problem.
Can compromise physical and emotional health
Affects the social, educational, vocational, and recreational aspects of life
Hearing health awareness
Bringing patients to the clinic is the first step

8. Are the “thresholds” measured by Even Headphones accurate?
Background
Research question
Are the “thresholds” measured by Even Headphones accurate?
Compared to Audiograms measured in an Audiology clinic
If not, how far off?
Any correlation?
Are the differences consistent?
If so, is it feasible to use as a screening tool?
Maybe alert the consumer when there is a hearing loss?
Consumers become patients?

9. Study approved by the IRB at University of the Pacific
Method
Study approved by the IRB at University of the Pacific
Ninety-seven subjects
Recruited from University of the Pacific Hearing and Balance Center
San Francisco campus
Varied in
Age
Gender
Degree of hearing loss
Type of hearing loss
Length of hearing loss
Amplification use

10. Method Noah Thresholds Patient’s audiograms stored in Noah
Audiogram obtained in a sound treated booth
Calibrated by ANSI standards
Type 1 clinical audiometer
Insert earphones
Down-10-up-5
Air conduction thresholds
Octave frequencies from 250 to 8k Hz
Both ears

11. Patients complete the measurement during their appointments
Method
Even Thresholds
Obtain consent
Patients complete the measurement during their appointments
In sound booth
Instruction on how to use the Even headphone
Easy to follow built-in instruction
Measures frequencies between 125 and 14k Hz
Both ears

12. Results
Audiogram thresholds vs. Even thresholds

13. Thresholds differences
Results
Thresholds differences
Even - Noah
Even headphones cannot test at levels above 70 dB HL
Relatively smaller distributions
At lower frequencies
In the left ear than the right ear

14. Audiogram thresholds vs. Corrected Even thresholds
Results
Audiogram thresholds vs. Corrected Even thresholds
No statistically significant differences between corrected Even thresholds and Noah thresholds
At all frequencies tested

15. Discussion
Provided evidence that consumer grade headphones could provide relatively accurate information regarding the listener's hearing status.
Even Headphones had consistent and stable threshold measurement
Correlated well with those obtained from audiometers.
As long as they are within the range of its optimal performance
Could potentially help improve the performance of auditory perception in individuals with hearing loss
Can act as a screening tool and prompting tool
A voice saying: Go see an Audiologist!

16. The presenters would like to thank:
Thank you
The presenters would like to thank:
Dr. Gabriella Musacchia, Co-director, AEP lab at UOP
Mr. Philip Inouye, Research assistant at AEP lab
Ms. Aimee Paredez, Research assistant at AEP lab
Mr. Danny Aronson, CEO, MeQ Inc dba Even
Mr. Ofer Raz, CTO, MeQ Inc dba Even
Dr. Rosalie Saxman, CAA CEU Chairperson
Audience at CAA 2018

17. References
Donahue A, Dubno JR, Beck L: Accessible and affordable hearing health care for adults with mild to moderate hearing loss. Ear Hear 2010;31(1):2-6.
Ramachandran V, Stach B, Becker E. Reducing hearing aid cost does not influence device acquisition for milder hearing loss, but eliminating it does. Hear Journ. 2011;64(5): 10-18