Department of Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology, University of Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa.
Amsterdam UMC, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Otolaryngology - Head and Neck surgery, Ear and Hearing, Amsterdam Public Health research institute, De Boelelaan, Amsterdam, Netherlands.
Int J Audiol. 2020 Oct;59(10):801-808. doi: 10.1080/14992027.2020.1783585. Epub 2020 Jul 1.
COVID-19 has been prohibitive to traditional audiological services. No- or low-touch audiological assessment outside a sound-booth precludes test batteries including bone conduction audiometry. This study investigated whether conductive hearing loss (CHL) can be differentiated from sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) using pure-tone air conduction audiometry and a digits-in-noise (DIN) test. A retrospective sample was analysed using binomial logistic regressions, which determined the effects of pure tone thresholds or averages, speech recognition threshold (SRT), and age on the likelihood that participants had CHL or bilateral SNHL. Data of 158 adults with bilateral SNHL ( = 122; PTA > 25 dB HL bilaterally) or CHL ( = 36; air conduction PTA > 25 dB HL and ≥20 dB air bone gap in the affected ears) were included. The model which best discriminated between CHL and bilateral SNHL used low-frequency pure-tone average (PTA), diotic DIN SRT, and age with an area under the ROC curve of 0.98 and sensitivity and specificity of 97.2 and 93.4%, respectively. CHL can be accurately distinguished from SNHL using pure-tone air conduction audiometry and a diotic DIN. Restrictions on traditional audiological assessment due to COVID-19 require lower touch audiological care which reduces infection risk.
COVID-19 对传统的听力学服务造成了阻碍。在隔音室内进行非接触式或低接触式听力学评估，会排除包括骨导测听在内的测试。本研究旨在探讨纯音空气传导测听和噪声下言语辨别测试（DIN）能否用于区分传导性听力损失（CHL）和感音神经性听力损失（SNHL）。本研究采用二项逻辑回归分析对回顾性样本进行分析，确定纯音听阈或平均值、言语识别阈值（SRT）和年龄对参与者患有 CHL 或双侧 SNHL 的可能性的影响。该研究纳入了 158 名双侧 SNHL 患者（ = 122；双侧听阈平均值（PTA）>25dB HL）或 CHL 患者（ = 36；气导 PTA >25dB HL，且患耳气骨导差值≥20dB）的资料。最佳区分 CHL 和双侧 SNHL 的模型使用低频纯音平均听阈（PTA）、双耳 DIN SRT 和年龄，ROC 曲线下面积为 0.98，灵敏度和特异性分别为 97.2%和 93.4%。纯音空气传导测听和双耳 DIN 可准确区分 CHL 和 SNHL。由于 COVID-19 对传统听力学评估的限制，需要进行低接触式的听力学护理，从而降低感染风险。
