Safety App Of The Week

February 16, 2015 No Comments

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Below is this week’s “Safety App of the Week“.  Every Monday we publish an article that reviews and rates a new workplace safety app.  Our testing is done on Apple iPads and Samsung Galaxy Tab 3s.  We rate each app from ♥ to ♥♥♥♥♥ (♥♥♥♥♥ is the best).  Prior app of the week articles are archived here.    

 Siemens Hearing Test

Official Description  

“The Hearing Test was created by audiology experts at Siemens to help you determine whether you have hearing impairment. This revolutionary application has been scientifically developed and carefully tested to ensure the most precise results possible. In addition, the test is completely independent of language, so you can use it reliably no matter what language you’re most comfortable with.

How the test works
The Siemens Hearing Test examines how well you can detect words in background noise. This is based on the knowledge that individuals with hearing loss have greater difficulty understanding speech in noisy environments, such as restaurants or subway stations.

During the test, you will hear nonsense words in a fluctuating background noise. Your task is to select the word you heard from several options displayed on your screen. Depending on your answers, the background noise will be adjusted. Unlike similar hearing tests, the volume setting is not crucial.

The test consists of nine test items per ear and determines how well you can understand speech in background noise. By comparing your results with the average score for normal listeners, the program might help you determine whether you have hearing impairment. However the results of the Siemens hearing test are not to be utilized as an official outcome for assessing levels of hearing loss. True hearing loss assessments can only be determined by a licensed hearing healthcare provider.“¹

 

Thumbs Up

• cost is free
• provides useful information on the causes and symptoms of hearing loss
• good graphics, visually attractive
• well-organized, simple, easy to use
• excellent instructions 
• can save each test for future reference
• can be used off-line

 

Thumbs Down

• results were not accurate (these results were not close to the results obtained in a hearing test by an audiologist)
• results were not repeatable (sometimes we were found to have excellent hearing, other times a hearing loss)
• the app says “the volume setting is not crucial.” However, our results changed significantly based upon how loud you set the volume on your mobile device (i.e. when the volume was high we were found to have excellent hearing; when the volume was low we were found to have poor hearing).

 

Overall Rating

• iPad / iPhone  – ♥♥
• Android –  not available
• Overall – This app is highly inaccurate and is not for suitable for serious use.  

¹ Description courtesy of  iTunes

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