Otivo plays spoken numbers in background noise and asks what you heard. How quiet they can get before you lose them shows how well you pick speech out of noise — the everyday problem hearing loss actually causes.
Works on any phone or computer, with any wired or Bluetooth earbuds. No clinic, no calibration, no special equipment.
Hearing loss is the most common sensory problem and among the least screened, because screening has needed a sound booth, calibrated headphones and an audiologist. Nigeria has a few hundred audiologists for more than 200 million people.
High sounds fade first, so speech in a noisy room becomes hard years before anyone thinks "I am going deaf".
Earwax and middle-ear infection are common causes, and both are treatable. Finding them needs someone to look.
Hearing loss in mid-life is among the largest risk factors for dementia that people can act on.
About eight minutes end to end. The test itself runs on your device; only the scores are saved.
Red flags first — sudden loss, pain, one-sided change — then your health history. If something needs care today, Otivo says so before testing.
Check left and right, set a comfortable volume, and let the microphone judge the room. Too noisy, and Otivo refuses rather than giving you a poor result.
Three numbers at a time against steady noise, each ear separately, then again with higher-pitched sound. Guessing is expected; the test is designed to get too hard.
Pass or refer, a Hearing Index out of 100, a result for each ear, a next step with a date, and an AI guide you can ask anything.
A traditional hearing test needs a known loudness at your eardrum, which is impossible with unknown earbuds. Otivo measures something different: how much quieter than the noise the speech can be before you lose it. That is a ratio, so if your earbuds are quiet, both the speech and the noise are quiet by the same amount and the answer does not change.
| Otivo tells you | Otivo cannot tell you |
|---|---|
| ✓ Whether your hearing should be checked | ✗ What is causing a hearing problem |
| ✓ How each ear did on speech sounds and high sounds | ✗ Your exact hearing thresholds in decibels |
| ✓ A Hearing Index to watch over the years | ✗ A diagnosis, or whether you need a hearing aid |
| ✓ Who to see, and by when | ✗ A replacement for a hearing test in a clinic |
If your hearing dropped suddenly, one ear went quiet on its own, you have ear pain or fluid, or you feel dizzy with the hearing change. Sudden hearing loss is treatable when seen early, and every day counts.
Otivo asks about long-term conditions because the evidence links them to hearing loss, and because the damage often shows in the high sounds first — before conversation becomes difficult.
About twice the chance of hearing loss compared with people without diabetes, and higher again in those under 60.
Horikawa C, et al. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2013;98(1):51–58 — 13 studies, 20,194 participants.A much higher chance of hearing loss, and higher still for people on dialysis. The kidney and the inner ear share similar fine blood vessels.
Wu K-L, et al. PLoS One. 2020;15(9):e0238913 — 185,430 patients.Several times the risk, in children and adults alike. Worth checking hearing regularly rather than waiting for a complaint.
Strum D, et al. Laryngoscope. 2021;131(5):1147–1156 · Kapoor E, et al. Otol Neurotol. 2021;42(1):30–37.Linked with hearing loss, though more weakly once age and other factors are accounted for. Otivo weights them accordingly rather than overstating them.
Jin X, et al. Front Neurol. 2025;15:1470997 · Tan CJW, et al. Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2024;170:694–707.Your result names what lowered your index, biggest first, so the connection is explicit rather than hidden inside a score.
The digits-in-noise test was developed as a hearing screen usable over ordinary telephones, and smartphone versions have been compared against clinical hearing tests. A higher-pitched variant picks up the high-frequency loss that fades first.
Smits C, Kapteyn TS, Houtgast T. Int J Audiol. 2004;43(1):15–28 · Potgieter JM, et al. Ear Hear. 2018;39(4):656–663 · Vlaming MSMG, et al. Ear Hear. 2014;35(6):667–679.Said plainly, because a screening tool that overstates itself is worse than none:
A validation study against booth audiometry is underway with partner clinics. Until it reports, every Otivo result says its pass levels are provisional.
One phone, a pair of earbuds and a quiet corner turn any consulting room into a screening station.
Register a patient, test in under ten minutes, then print or send the result. Each patient gets a code so they can keep their own history and test at home later.
A recall list of patients due or overdue, with one-tap WhatsApp. A screen that finds nothing this year still matters next year.
Monthly figures: screened, referred, uneven ears, patients with a chronic condition — and how many attended their referral and had something treatable found.
Audio never leaves your phone. The microphone is used only to judge room noise, and nothing is recorded.
If you opt in, a message contains your first name, a nudge and a link — never anything about your hearing, because someone else may see the phone.
A shared result link holds your result and next step. It does not hold your health history or your email.
Access is granted per clinic. Results cannot be edited or deleted from the app, because a clinical record should not be rewritable.
No. Any wired or Bluetooth earbuds work, because the test measures speech against noise rather than absolute loudness. Use earbuds if you can: without them, both ears are tested together and a weaker ear can be missed.
No, and it is not meant to be. A clinic measures your exact thresholds in a sound booth. Otivo tells you whether that visit is worth making. If you are referred, the clinic test is the next step.
That is a result in itself. Otivo checks that you can hear a few easy sets before starting, and if you cannot, it points you straight to care.
By design. The test finds the point where you start to lose the numbers, so it has to pass that point. Guessing is part of it and does not spoil your result.
Yes. One account can hold a household, each person with their own record. Hearing loss is most often found in children and older parents, and they are the least likely to test themselves.
Most people once a year or two. If you live with diabetes, kidney disease or high blood pressure, or you work in noise, every six months. Your result tells you which applies to you.
The screen is free to take. Clinics and employers pay for the programme features: patient records, recall lists, reporting and bulk screening days.
Find a quiet room, put in your earbuds, and find out whether your hearing needs a proper look.
Take the 5-minute screen