Hearing CheckerThe Hearing Checker consists of three units—a tablet device, specially-de-signed supra-aural headphone, and a printer for outputting test results. The supra-aural headphone offer enhanced sound insulation performance that allows the system to operate in envi-ronments where other sounds are present.The Hearing Checker is easy to use. All you need to do is to press the Start button on the screen to begin the audiometric testing. Those interested in screening their hearing simply press “Yes” if they hear a sound and “No” if they don’t. The test is performed 10 times. Your hearing age is determined based on the number of times the Yes and No buttons are pressed.printing the “hearing age” of the user—one that only required a person to press “Yes” if they heard a sound and “No” if they didn’t.How Noise in Surrounding Areas Was Overcomee printed report gives your present “hearing age,” based on your sex and age, as compared with the average hearing level in that group. e screen-ing is based on the results of a study by Dr. Koichiro Wasano,* the chief of the auditory disorders laboratory of the National Hospital Organization Tokyo Medical Center, which involved large-scale testing of the hearing level of approximately 10,000 people with normal hearing. is was the rst study of its kind done in Japan. e Hearing Checker was based on joint eorts between the Tokyo Medical Center and Rion based on this study.“One issue that remained unre-solved to the end was the environment where the checking system was to be used.” “At an otorhinolaryngologist’s oce, testing for hearing level occurs in a quiet environment specially prepared for the testing. But we didn’t want to impose restrictions on the environment needed for using the Hearing Checker. We overcame the problem of noise by adopting supra-aural headphone that oer higher sound insulation perfor-mance compared to normal sets,” says Nakaichi.e system is currently in the verication phase. Limits remain with regard to installation conditions. Some potential environments we’re examin-ing include sports centers and waiting rooms at otorhinolaryngologists. We hope, for example, that someone who comes in with allergic rhinitis will use the system to see if their hearing is okay. ey may look at the results and take the opportunity to mention it to the doctor.“In this way, we want as many people as possible to get their hearing diagnosed by a doctor,” says Sato. “e Japanese people tend to want to know how old they are in terms of health and oen worry about being below the av-erage. If people can check their hearing to see whether their hearing is below average or not for their age, more people will denitely go to see a doctor.”Don’t Wait Until Your Hearing DeterioratesImpairment in your hearing takes a toll on your social life. But if you take adequate measures like adopting a hearing aid from the very early stage of hearing impairment, you can go on to enjoy a normal life. Key to making this happen is to see an otorhinolaryngolo-gist in the earliest stage possible of the impairment. In certain cases, hearing impairment can even be reversed if diagnosed early enough.One factor oen claimed to act as a barrier to widespread adoption of hearing aids is their price. “I think the fundamental reason behind this is the lack of awareness of the value that hearing aids can oer,” says Nakaichi. Progressive hearing impairment can lead not just to dementia, but other diseases. And once your body becomes disabled, it becomes harder to begin using hearing aids.Deterioration in hearing with age is inevitable. at doesn’t mean we have to accept it and give up. If we do, it can lead to even more debilitating conditions.“We want to increase the usage rate for hearing aids, which now stands at 14%, to at least 20%,” says Sato. “In some countries, the usage rate is already above 50%. I want Japan to get to that level.”*K. Wasano et al. “Patterns of hearing changes in women and men from denarians to nonagenarians”, LANCET Regional Health Western Pacific (2021).13
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