Head of ITS Vibration Laboratory Dr. Dhany Arifianto ST MEng (holding the mic) when explaining the development of the audiometric instrument studied by his team

ITS Campus, ITS News – According to data from the Indonesian Ministry of Social Affairs in 2019, the percentage of people with hearing loss in Indonesia continues to increase. However, the examination room facilities, experts, and available tools are still minimal. Therefore, the Institut Teknologi Sepuluh November (ITS), together with Universitas Airlangga (Unair) and RSUD dr Soetomo, developed a portable audiometric hearing test that complies with health standards.

Initiated by the Vibration and Acoustic (Vibrastics) Laboratory of the ITS Physics Engineering Department and funded by the Education Fund Management Institute (LPDP), this audiometry tool was developed to monitor a person’s hearing level to be classified as a subject with hearing loss or normal hearing. “This tool monitors a person’s hearing threshold, and generally normal hearing is at 60 decibels (dB),” explained the head of the ITS Vibration Laboratory, Dr. Dhany Arifianto ST MEng.

A member of the research team from the ITS Vibration Laboratory Achmadi ST MT while demonstrating the operation of a portable audiometry device

Dhany added that the audiometric device is designed to be portable and can be used in open spaces. This is motivated by the limited space for proper examination and examination in a narrow area which can endanger patients with specific diseases such as Multi-Drug Resistant Tuberculosis (MDR TB). “With this, hearing checks can be done anywhere,” he said when reporting on the progress of the development of the hybrid device at the Harris Hotel & Conventions Gubeng, Surabaya, Wednesday (24/8).

This hearing meter is also designed to be user-friendly so that it can be used independently by patients. Using the tool that adopts the three-force choice method is also very easy. On the measuring instrument, there are three buttons; if the participant hears a sound when the LED light is on, the participant will press one of the three buttons under the light. “One-time data collection takes approximately 10 minutes,” said Dhany.

Furthermore, Dhany said that the results of the measurement tools in the form of audiograms could be accessed through electronic devices that are already connected to the audiometric device using a wi-fi internet connection. The doctor will later read this audiogram, and the doctor concerned will also determine whether the patient has a hearing loss or not based on the hearing level chart.

The team of doctors from the Faculty of Medicine, Airlangga University, tried directly to use a portable audiometric hearing test kit

Dhany added that the tool, developed for two years, has been tested on 53 people with normal hearing and tested on six different frequencies, namely 250, 500, 1,000, 2,000, 4,000, and 8,000 Hertz (Hz). Not only that, the development of audiometry is directly controlled by the Surabaya Health Facility Security Agency (BPFK) to ensure product safety is implemented now to patients.

Finally, Dhany hopes this measuring tool will continue to be developed and its features updated to have higher accuracy and faster data collection. “Hopefully, this tool can be used by the wider community, especially in health centers with limited tools,” he concluded. (ITS Public Relation)

One of the representatives from the Faculty of Medicine of Airlangga University doing a hearing test using portable audiometry

Reporter: Frecia Elrivia Mardianto