SHOEBOX Online employs a revolutionary new testing algorithm that is designed to generate high-quality results that consider all potential variables introduced by unique participant use cases.
The four factors
SHOEBOX has accomplished this by powering the test with four unique factors that all contribute to providing effective test results.
These four factors are:
- Device and headphone compensation: The SHOEBOX Online team has carefully analyzed the most common consumer headphones and devices, and we are able to compensate for the different sound outputs they make.
- Dynamic predictive questionnaire: SHOEBOX Online’s pre-test questionnaire is designed to probe into a participant’s perception of their own hearing ability. This personalized questionnaire dynamically selects questions based on the answers provided. The responses to these questionnaires are logged in the participant’s test data and some are used to calculate test results. An audiologist can review the answers after exporting the results from the portal. To view a list of the questions and their response options, see Questionnaire Flowsheet.
- NEW patented test methodology: SHOEBOX Online incorporates patented technology that measures each individual’s comfort level while listening to a speech passage presented at various levels of intensity. As hearing loss increases, the range between a comfortable listening level and the lowest perceivable sound decreases. This is what is known as dynamic range. The dynamic range of a participant is not significantly impacted by device or headphone volume. It is an entirely relative measurement and independent from headphone type. This makes it ideal for online testing, as individualized dynamic range can be effectively measured on multiple types of hardware and headphones.
- Multi-frequency tone detection: SHOEBOX Online presents warbled pulsed tones at 1k, 2k, 4k, and 6kHz in each ear to better estimate a participant’s hearing by frequency. The test focuses on the frequencies that apply to speech comprehension and sounds of everyday life.