{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,19]],"date-time":"2026-09-19T09:30:19Z","timestamp":1789810219155,"version":"4.0.1"},"reference-count":27,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"6","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,11,13]],"date-time":"2025-11-13T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1762992000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Undergraduate Student Research Internship from the University of Western Ontario"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Audiology Research"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background\/Objectives: Mobile health (mHealth) tools, such as smartphone apps, support person-centred care for persons with hearing loss engaging in the hearing aid management process. Hearing-aid-connected apps are increasingly common in audiological care, making it important to evaluate their availability and quality for clinicians, developers, and end-users. This scoping review aimed to identify, summarize, and synthesize information on clinically available hearing-aid-connected apps and evaluate their quality. Methods: A search of the Apple App Store (Canada) was conducted in August 2024 to identify current hearing-aid-connected apps that support hearing aid management. Metadata and features were extracted, and app quality was assessed using the Mobile Application Rating Scale (MARS). Quality was assessed across four objective domains (engagement, functionality, aesthetics, and information) and one subjective domain. Results: Apps had varying levels of metadata detail, including updates, compatibility, and target populations. All apps included common hearing aid controls (e.g., volume adjustment, microphone directionality), while more specialized features (tinnitus management, health tracking, remote clinician support) varied. High-performing apps scored significantly higher in engagement, functionality, aesthetics, and subjective quality, and all apps scored low in information quality, particularly for evidence and credibility. Conclusions: Findings highlight the need for transparent and informative metadata reporting and patient-centred design to improve clinical awareness, usability, and uptake of hearing-aid-connected apps.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/audiolres15060157","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,11,13]],"date-time":"2025-11-13T12:57:13Z","timestamp":1763038633000},"page":"157","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":2,"title":["What\u2019s in an App? Scoping Review and Quality Assessment of Clinically Available Hearing-Aid-Connected Apps"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"15","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0000-6172-9282","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Kate","family":"Pfingstgraef","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Western University, London, ON N6G 1H1, Canada"},{"name":"National Centre for Audiology, Western University, London, ON N6G 1H1, Canada"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0417-7773","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Robin","family":"O\u2019Hagan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"National Centre for Audiology, Western University, London, ON N6G 1H1, Canada"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0004-8316-9174","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jana N.","family":"Bataineh","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Western University, London, ON N6G 1H1, Canada"},{"name":"National Centre for Audiology, Western University, London, ON N6G 1H1, Canada"},{"name":"Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, Western University, London, ON N6G 1H1, Canada"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1953-3312","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Danielle","family":"Glista","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Western University, London, ON N6G 1H1, Canada"},{"name":"National Centre for Audiology, Western University, London, ON N6G 1H1, Canada"},{"name":"Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, Western University, London, ON N6G 1H1, Canada"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,11,13]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2133","DOI":"10.1016\/S0140-6736(24)00757-8","article-title":"Global incidence, prevalence, years lived with disability (YLDs), disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs), and healthy life expectancy (HALE) for 371 diseases and injuries in 204 countries and territories and 811 subnational locations, 1990\u20132021: A systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021","volume":"403","author":"Ferrari","year":"2024","journal-title":"Lancet"},{"key":"ref_2","unstructured":"Ramage-Morin, P., Banks, R., Pineault, D., and Atrach, M. 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