Novosibirsk State Technical University has developed a device for assessing human hearing in several parameters at once: the threshold of audibility, sensitivity to frequency, as well as checking musical hearing. Such a diagnosis will allow doctors to more accurately and quickly diagnose and identify the causes of hearing loss.
The project took the second place at the International Conference of Young Specialists in the field of Electronic devices and Materials IEEE EDM in the section "Biomedical Electronics and Engineering" and the first place in its section at the international conference "Progress through Innovations". The authors of the project are Alexander Pavlov, Candidate of Biological Sciences, Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Automation and Computer Engineering (AUTF), and Valentin Karavaev, Assistant of the Department of Data Collection and Processing Systems of the AUTF.
"According to statistics from the World Health Organization, today the number of people with hearing impairments is about 430 million people. Hearing loss is a very common disease, and the problem of diagnosing hearing organs is always relevant. The main problem is that ear pathologies often develop unnoticed by humans. We hear sounds in the range up to 20 kHz, but in everyday life, for example, for simple communication, our ear uses a much narrower range of sounds. And if hearing deteriorates in the high-frequency zone, the patient may not notice it on his own, which complicates the timely diagnosis of hearing problems. The device we are developing performs a comprehensive diagnosis of the hearing organs, consisting of several separate procedures testing a specific hearing function," said Valentin Karavaev.
The device itself is designed on the basis of a clinical audiometer, an electroacoustic device for accurate measurement of hearing acuity. The difference from analogues is that the device developed at NSTU-NETI implements additional functions that allow for a comprehensive diagnosis of hearing organs: the study of hearing thresholds, checking musical hearing, sensitivity to an increase in frequency, the ability to distinguish frequencies close to each other.
Currently, the device has five main operating modes. Manual mode — frequency and intensity settings — will help calibrate the device for use by a specific patient. In the automatic search mode, which is used to measure the patient's hearing thresholds, the sound is played at a certain frequency, and the patient must tell the device whether he hears this sound. During the operation of the relative hearing mode, a sequence of four sounds is played, one of which differs in frequency. The patient's task is to identify and select a different sound. In absolute hearing mode, the device randomly shuffles the notes of the first octave and plays them in turn. The user's task is to correctly identify each note being played. During tonal audiometry, four audiograms are constructed — air and bone conduction for each ear. The built-in analyzer processes the received graphs and determines the type and degree of hearing loss.
The prototype of the device was tested for usability, which allowed us to identify key points for improving the interface in the next version of the product. Several functions will be added: response to sound, sensitivity to changes in intensity, and spatial perception of sound. Tests of the new modes are planned in early autumn.
According to the developers, the simplicity and accessibility of the device will allow it to be used not only in hospitals, but also in enterprises with high noise levels — in places where conducting a brief and effective hearing diagnosis after each shift is a necessary procedure for the prevention of hearing loss.
"Thanks to the ability to "decompose" the patient's hearing into separate parameters, doctors will be able to diagnose and determine the factors leading to hearing loss faster and more accurately. I think that our device will become an effective and practical tool for diagnostics, treatment and comprehensive medical examinations," concluded Valentin Karavaev.