Hear all about it… new mobile audiometry technology

The ‘SHOEBOX’ Tablet Audiometer innovation carried out in the Ear Nose and Throat (ENT) clinic at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital (SCGH) came to fruition following a successful Innovative Future (IF) Program, Round 2 application by Dr Jafri Kuthubutheen, an ENT Consultant specialising in ear and hearing disorders.

SHOEBOX is an application used on a tablet coupled with a set of specialised headphones which self-guides, measures and reports on a patient’s level of hearing. It is an automated program which plays a series of tones of varying loudness and patients are guided to tap on the screen if they can hear the sounds being presented. Through a validated protocol, the program can then determine the degree of hearing loss in each ear.

Jafri set out on this journey to solve the growing problem of the increasing number of patients on the ENT waitlist and long wait times to first appointment for patients with hearing related problems. This problem is hampered by the large demand for the services and limited number of available appointments.

Jafri heard of the SHOEBOX application from colleagues working in other health services locally and interstate. “Portable tablet audiometry is a new technology, the ability to measure hearing accurately without the use of a booth was just the thing we were looking for to fill the gap in our service - being able to quickly measure a patient’s hearing in a busy and packed clinic. This is what inspired us to apply for the IF Program.”

Although it wasn’t a new invention it was certainly a new innovation for SCGH and the Innovation and Development Hub (IDH) Team were excited to work with Jafri and the ENT team to see the benefits and efficiencies SHOEBOX could bring.

Following a successful initial pilot funded by the IF Program, the SHOEBOX clinic has now been operationally funded for another year. The aim over the next year is to expand the types of patients that can be referred for SHOEBOX audiometer assessment.

Jafri states, “The SHOEBOX tablet audiometer provides significant benefits to the ENT clinic, allowing basic hearing tests to be performed without the need for an audiologist to be present, freeing up the audiologist to attend to more complex patients requiring face to face review. SHOEBOX audiometer also allows clinicians to screen and monitor patients hearing loss repeatedly without taking up valuable clinic time, giving the clinic the ability to book patients for an audiogram at short notice, when an audiologist is not available or fully booked in clinic”.

The ENT patients are also embracing the new technology and self-guided audiometer experience, “The SHOEBOX tablet works great! The instructions were easy to follow and I would definitely recommend it to other patients”

Keep up the innovative thinking ENT team!