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Comparing an AI-driven Hearing Test With the Standard Hearing Test in Adults With Hearing Loss and Tinnitus
Sponsor: University College, London
Summary
Background and study aims Hearing problems are becoming more common. In the UK around 18 million adults have hearing loss or hear ringing or buzzing in their ears, which is called tinnitus. Many people wait a long time to be seen, partly because there are not enough audiologists - the specialists who test hearing and treat hearing problems. The standard hearing test is called pure-tone audiometry. An audiologist plays quiet sounds at different pitches through headphones and the person presses a button each time they hear one. The test is accurate, but it takes 20 to 30 minutes to complete, and needs a trained audiologist for all of that time. For people with tinnitus and comorbidity it can be especially tiring and slow. The research team has built a version of this test that uses artificial intelligence, called AI-PTA. Instead of following a fixed pattern, it chooses each sound based on the responses already given, which should mean fewer sound presentations are needed to find the same result. The audiologist stays with the person throughout and remains in charge of the test. This study asks three questions. 1. Does AI-PTA give the same hearing results as the standard test? 2. Is it quicker? 3. And do patients and staff find it acceptable? Who can participate? Adults aged 18 or over who have been diagnosed with sensorineural hearing loss, either with or without tinnitus, and who are due to attend the Royal National ENT \& Eastman Dental Hospital in London. Participants need enough English to read and complete questionnaires and to be able to give informed consent. People who have or report hyperacusis (an unusual sensitivity to everyday sounds), an active ear infection, or recent ear surgery cannot take part. What does the study involve? People who are interested are sent information about two weeks before a hospital appointment they already have. Those who decide to take part come in about 30 minutes early, meet a research audiologist, discuss the study, and if happy to take part, sign a consent form. They fill in a short questionnaire about their hearing health. They then have two hearing tests at that visit: the standard test, which is part of their normal care, and the AI-PTA test. Half of the participants have the standard test first and half have AI-PTA first, so that the order does not affect the results. They come back within a week for a shorter appointment, about 40 minutes, to repeat the AI-PTA test. This shows whether it gives the same response twice. They also fill in a questionnaire about what they think of using artificial intelligence in healthcare. That is the end of taking part, though participants are also invited to join an optional group discussion about their opinions on AI in healthcare later on. What are the possible benefits and risks of participating? There is no direct benefit to taking part. The results will help decide whether tests like this can shorten waiting times for hearing assessments in the NHS. The risks are small. Both tests use the same clinical equipment at the same safe sound levels that ordinary hearing tests use, and a qualified clinical audiologist is present throughout and can stop at any point. The main cost to participants is time: about 45 minutes extra at the first appointment and a second visit of about 40 minutes. Some people find hearing tests tiring, and people with tinnitus sometimes notice their tinnitus more during or after a hearing test. Taking part is voluntary, and choosing not to take part, or stopping at any time, will not affect anyone's care. Where is the study run from? Royal National ENT and Eastman Dental Hospitals in London which is part of University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, and University College London. When is the study starting and how long is it expected to run for? The study was approved in August 2026 and the first participant took part in September 2026. It is expected to run for 12 months, finishing in August 2027. Who is funding the study? The British Society of Otology (part of ENT UK), and the National Institute for Health and Care Research University College London Hospitals Biomedical Research Centre. Who is the main contact? Dr Roulla Katiri, uclh.ahead@nhs.net
Official title: Accuracy, Efficiency and Acceptability of AI-driven Pure-tone Audiometry (AI-PTA) Compared With Manual Pure-tone Audiometry in Adults With Sensorineural Hearing Loss With and Without Concurrent Tinnitus: the AI-enhanced HEaring Assessment and Delivery (AHEAD) Study
Key Details
Gender
All
Age Range
18 Years - Any
Study Type
OBSERVATIONAL
Enrollment
84
Start Date
2026-09-20
Completion Date
2027-08-30
Last Updated
2026-10-26
Healthy Volunteers
No
Conditions
Interventions
Intelligent PTA
Air-conduction pure-tone audiometry in which the level of each presentation is chosen to maximise expected information about the hearing threshold, from a prior distribution and the responses so far. Testing at a frequency stops when the posterior standard deviation falls below 4 dB with a response on an ascending run. Tones are presented by the audiologist on their own calibrated audiometer; the system instructs and records. Masking follows the BSA plateau method with the same engine establishing the threshold at each masking level.
Standard pure-tone audiometry (BSA modified Hughson-Westlake)
Air-conduction pure-tone audiometry by the British Society of Audiology's recommended procedure: descending 10 dB steps until no response, ascending 5 dB steps until a response, threshold taken from two responses out of three on ascending runs, with a 1 kHz repeat in the first ear tested. Tones are presented by the audiologist on their own calibrated audiometer.
Locations (1)
University College London Hospitals
London, Greater London, United Kingdom