Automatic processing of audiometry sequences for objective screening of hearing loss

Audiology is the branch of science that deals with hearing, balance, and related disorders. Detecting patients with slow responses to auditory stimuli is relevant because this slowness could be due to other cognitive problems or conditions, which should be studied carefully. In this paper, we present an automatic methodology for processing video sequences recorded during the performance of hearing tests to patients. This screening method allows us to measure the patient’s response times to the auditory stimuli sent to them, and based on these times, to identify those patients with response times abnormally slow. The method is tested on individuals taken at random from a standard population, and based on the obtained results, it is confirmed that the proposed method is valid for the automatic detection of patients with slow response times, and it also serves to the experts as a tool for the accurate and objective measurement of these times.

► Screening method for the analysis of audiometry videos based on computer vision. ► The methodology is fully automatic and able to detect and measure patient responses. ► It obtains objective and repeatable results enabling sharing between experts. ► It allows to spot persons with abnormally slow responses related to some pathologies.