Computational Audiology: New Approaches to Advance Hearing Health Care in the Digital Age.
Jan-Willem A Wasmann, Cris P Lanting, Wendy J Huinck, Emmanuel A M Mylanus, Jeroen W M van der Laak, Paul J Govaerts, De Wet Swanepoel, David R Moore, Dennis L Barbour
PMID 33675587WHAT IT FOUND
This paper outlines a vision for using AI and apps to expand hearing care access.
It reports no clinical trial results or patient outcomes, so it offers no evidence to change how you assess or treat patients now.
What this paper is
This is a perspective paper introducing the concept of 'computational audiology'. It discusses how digital tools, machine learning, and smartphones might improve hearing care access and diagnostics in the future. It reports no original clinical trial data, no patient outcomes, and no evidence that these new approaches currently change clinical results, so there is nothing here to alter your practice on.
What it does not show
The paper is a theoretical perspective and vision statement, not an empirical study. It cites examples from other studies to illustrate potential applications but does not present new data from patients.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret the described benefits of computational tools as proven clinical outcomes. The paper argues for the potential of these technologies but provides no evidence that they currently improve patient care compared to standard practice.