App scans your hearing if you listen to loud music on earphones

It was nervous smiles and excitement yesterday at Ramogosetsi Secondary school in the Elias Motsoaledi local municipality in Limpopo as teachers and pupils took part in the hearing screenings that use an app called the hearWHO for early detection of hearing loss.

The app, which is endorsed by the World Health Organisation, is recommended for those who often listen to loud music over earphones.

At the end of the test, the app tells you what you scored and if it is below 50%, you are then referred to the audiology clinic.

Even though the test is not a final diagnosis, the Ndlovu Wits Audiology (NWA) clinic and outreach programme coordinator and audiologist Hawa Mahomed said it was used as a precautionary measure to test whether there could be any possible problems.

Grade 10 pupil Hector Boroto said: “I did not know that my hearing was bad until today because the machine gave me a score of 42%.”

According to the NWA clinic and outreach programme, the referral rate – the number of children who “failed” the hearing screening – was 39% and of these pupils, 16% were referred for medical management for suspected middle ear pathology, 17% underwent wax removal and 13% were referred for diagnostic audiological assessment.

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