About Claire
Claire is a free, evidence-based 2-minute hearing screen designed to be used in the clinic or shared by a physician with their patient. If the result suggests concern, Claire helps the patient connect with a licensed audiologist or hearing instrument specialist in the Orange & Gray network.
Built for physicians, free for patients
Most adults wait an average of 7 years between noticing a hearing change and seeking care — and primary-care visits are one of the few moments that gap can close. Claire is designed so a physician or nurse can hand a tablet to a patient, or text them a link, and have validated screening results in under two minutes. No login. No EHR integration required.
The instrument
Claire administers the Hearing Handicap Inventory for the Elderly — Screening (HHIE-S), a 10-item, public-domain instrument validated across decades of primary-care literature (Ventry & Weinstein, 1983; recommended by the AAFP and USPSTF reviews of adult hearing screening). Scoring follows the standard cut-points: 0–8 no handicap, 10–24 mild–moderate, 26+ significant. We don't modify the questions.
What happens after the screen
If results suggest concern, the patient can (1) download or email themselves a PDF to bring to their next appointment, or (2) consent to a short referral to up to three nearby audiologists or hearing instrument specialists in our network. Referrals require explicit, unbundled consent. Nothing is shared otherwise.
Helping a parent or partner?
About a third of Claire's users are adult children answering on behalf of a parent. The HHIE-S is written so a close family member can answer reliably — but if you're unsure, ask. The conversation itself is worth having.
What Claire is not
Claire is a validated screening tool, not a diagnosis. Pure-tone audiometry and a full case history from a licensed audiologist or hearing instrument specialist remain the standard of care for diagnosis and treatment planning.
Who runs Claire
Claire is operated by Orange & Gray Ltd, a clinical-tools company supporting a network of independent audiologists and hearing instrument specialists. Specialists in our directory pay a flat network membership — we do not take per-referral fees, and Claire is free to physicians and patients indefinitely.