Background and Objectives: To evaluate the clinical performance of a smartphone-based sound amplification device (SBSAD) compared to a conventional personal sound amplification product (PSAP) in older adults with mild-to-moderate sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL), ad-dressing the need for accessible alternatives given the low adoption of traditional hearing aids. Materials and Methods: Forty-nine participants (mean age 68 years) with mild-to-moderate SNHL underwent audiometric testing and subjective evaluation under three conditions: unaided, aided with a commercial PSAP, and aided with an SBSAD (iPhone with wireless earbuds). Primary outcomes included functional gain in sound field thresholds and user ratings of sound quality and acceptability via a custom questionnaire. Results: Both devices yielded significant threshold improvements compared to the unaided condition (p 0.5). Subjective ratings for sound quality, comfort, cosmetic acceptability, and future willingness to use were comparable between devices (all p > 0.05). Conclusions: The SBSAD performed equivalently to a traditional PSAP in improving audibility and user satisfaction. Smartphone-based technologies offer a viable, accessible mobile health solution to bridge the gap for older adults who lack conventional hearing aids.
Wu et al. (Tue,) studied this question.