Screening school age children for hearing loss
Better access to screening
Sound Scouts is an innovative screening application that tests for hearing loss in children through a fun interactive game using a mobile device. It has been specifically designed to test for sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL), conductive hearing loss (CHL) and central auditory processing disorder (CAPD) in children aged between 4 years and 9 months and 12 years, but can also be used for teenagers and adults.
The objective of the MUCHE study was to estimate the cost effectiveness of Sound Scouts, by comparing the benefits and costs of administering Sound Scouts to a five year old child at home, to the current environment where children are mostly tested for hearing loss if someone (e.g., a teacher) suspects potential hearing loss.
The study involved developing and administering a national survey of Sound Scouts users, and constructing a detailed Markov model to estimate the cost effectiveness of identifying and managing hearing loss in children five years old.
The study led to the Australian Government Department of Health committing $4 million to provide 600,000 Australian children access to Sound Scouts free of charge.
Papers
Economic Evaluations of Childhood Hearing Loss Screening Programmes: A Systematic Review and Critique
Sharma, R., Gu, Y., Ching, T.Y.C., Marmane, V., Parkinson, B. Economic evaluation of childhood hearing loss screening programmes: A systematic review and critique. Appl Health Econ Health Policy (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40258-018-00456-1
Background
Permanent childhood hearing loss is one of the most common birth conditions associated with speech and language delay. A hearing screening can result in early detection and intervention for hearing loss.
Objectives
To update and expand previous systematic reviews of economic evaluations of childhood hearing screening strategies, and explore the methodological differences.
Data sources
MEDLINE, Embase, the Cochrane database, National Health Services Economic Evaluation Database (NHS EED), the Health Technology Assessment (HTA) database, and Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health's (CADTH) Grey matters.
Study eligibility criteria, participants and interventions
Economic evaluations reporting costs and outcomes for both the intervention and comparator arms related to childhood hearing screening strategies.
Results
Thirty evaluations (from 29 articles) were included for review. Several methodological issues were identified, including: few evaluations reported outcomes in terms of quality-adjusted life years (QALYs); none estimated utilities directly from surveying children; none included disutilities and costs associated with adverse events; few included costs and outcomes that differed by severity; few included long-term estimates; none considered acquired hearing loss; some did not present incremental results; and few conducted comprehensive univariate or probabilistic sensitivity analysis. Evaluations published post-2011 were more likely to report QALYs and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) as outcome measures, include long-term treatment and productivity costs, and present incremental results.
Limitations
We were unable to access the economic models and, although we employed an extensive search strategy, potentially not all relevant economic evaluations were identified.
Conclusions and limitations
Most economic evaluations concluded that childhood hearing screening is value for money. However, there were significant methodological limitations with the evaluations.
Conferences
| Paper | Activity | Location and date |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-effectiveness of screening children for hearing loss with Sound Scouts | Presentation | Australian Health Economics Society, Hobart, Australia 25 - 26 Sept. 2018 |
| Sound Scouts: An economic evaluation | Presentation | ISPOR Asia Pacific, Tokyo, Japan |
Presentations
| Framing an idea to get your message across | 2020 Audition: Changing the game. Independent Audiologists Australia, University of Technology | Sydney |
| Economic analysis of hearing devices: Measuring the patient benefit of devices | St Vincents Hospital | Sydney |
Media Coverage
| "I felt so guilty." Kylie's seven year old daughter's hearing problem went undetected for years. | Mamma-Mia | 08/03/2019 |
| Nine News | Channel 9 | 06/03/2019 |
| Test your kids for free | Today Extra | 06/03/2019 |
| Hearing Week 2019: $4 million rollout of fun and free new test for students | Education HQ | 05/03/2019 |
| Seven Nightly News | Channel 7 | 03/03/2019 |
| Australian game tests children for hearing loss and disorders | ABC News | 29/12/2018 |
| The Aussie technology detecting hearing loss in children | The Huffington Post | 02/09/2017 |