De Sousa, K.C. (Karina)Swanepoel, De WetMoore, David R.Smits, Cas2018-12-102018-12-102018-11-19De Sousa, K.C., Swanepoel, D.W., Moore, D.R. et al. 2018, 'A smartphone national hearing test : performance and characteristics of users', American Journal of Audiology, vol. 27, no. 3, pp. 448-454.1059-0889 (print)1558-9137 (online)10.1044/2018_AJA-IMIA3-18-0016http://hdl.handle.net/2263/68075PURPOSE : The smartphone digits-in-noise hearing test, called hearZA, was made available as a self-test in South Africa in March 2016. This study determined characteristics and test performance of the listeners who took the test. METHOD : A retrospective analysis of 24,072 persons who completed a test between March 2016 and August 2017 was conducted. User characteristics, including age, English-speaking competence, and self-reported hearing difficulty, were analyzed. Regression analyses were conducted to determine predictors of the speech reception threshold. RESULTS : Overall referral rate of the hearZA test was 22.4%, and 37% of these reported a known hearing difficulty. Age distributions showed that 33.2% of listeners were ages 30 years and younger, 40.5% were between ages 31 and 50 years, and 26.4% were older than 50 years. Age, self-reported English-speaking competence, and self-reported hearing difficulty were significant predictors of the speech reception threshold. CONCLUSIONS : High test uptake, particularly among younger users, and high overall referral rate indicates that the hearZA app addresses a public health need. The test also reaches target audiences, including those with self-reported hearing difficulty and those with normal hearing who should monitor their hearing ability.en© 2018 American Speech-Language-Hearing AssociationSmartphone digits-in-noise hearing testhearZASouth Africa (SA)CharacteristicsTest performanceListenersUsersPostprint Article