An app that lets users test their hearing using their smart device has been developed and validated by researchers at the University of Pretoria (UP). If a user of the app fails the hearing test, the app recommends the nearest hearing healthcare provider based on the user’s location.
The app, hearZATM, was officially launched on 2 March 2016 at The Innovation Hub in Tshwane, ahead of World Hearing Day on 3 March. It will be available for download nationally on both the Android and iOS operating systems at no cost, thus providing millions of South Africans with a free hearing test.
‘More than three million South Africans suffer from permanent, disabling hearing loss,’ explains Prof De Wet Swanepoel, lead inventor of the hearZATM app. He says that unidentified hearing loss has far-reaching consequences, including communication difficulties, lethargy, and a greater risk of depression and dementia.
Early detection using hearZATM can provide access to better hearing for better living. The two-minute test, made possible by Vodacom, Sivantos, Oticon and the Ear Institute, requires users to listen to simple digits in noise. On completion, each user receives a unique hearing score.
Click on the icon below to listen to an example of the hearing test.
To ensure that users who are diagnosed with a hearing problem get the help they need, the app links them to their closest hearing healthcare providers based on geolocation, which most modern smart devices are equipped with.
The South African Association of Audiologists (SAAA) and the South African Speech-Language-Hearing Association (SASLHA) have partnered with hearZATM to build a national referral network.
In support of World Hearing Day, the first 18 persons diagnosed with disabling hearing loss using the hearZATM app will receive a sponsored audiological evaluation at a registered provider, as well as hearing aids if needed. These hearing aids will be donated by leading manufacturers Sivantos, Oticon and the Ear Institute.
‘The smartphone-based National Hearing Test is the first of its kind,’ says Prof Swanepoel. ‘It not only provides accurate testing but encourages hearing health awareness through a gamified user experience.’
hearZATM is released by hearScreen (Pty), which has licensed the app from the University of Pretoria, and it is currently supported by The Innovation Hub under its Maxum Business Incubator and mLab Southern Africa.
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Prof De Wet Swanepoel
March 3, 2016
Professor De Wet Swanepoel, PhD, is a professor of audiology in the Department of Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology in the Faculty of Humanities at the University of Pretoria (UP). He is a leading international researcher in teleaudiology, hearing health innovation and new service delivery models.
Prof Swanepoel is Research Director of the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) Collaborating Centre for Prevention of Deafness and Hearing Loss at UP. He is also a senior research fellow at the Ear Science Institute Australia, and has served as a visiting professor at universities in the US, Sweden and Australia.
His research capitalises on digital health to explore, develop and evaluate innovative technologies and service delivery models for ear and hearing care. He has published more than 220 peer-reviewed articles, books and book chapters, and is funded by the US National Institutes of Health, the Academy of Medical Sciences in the UK, the National Research Foundation, SA, and other industry partners. He has received numerous international awards for his work, from international science councils, audiology associations and industry.
Prof Swanepoel is a sought-after keynote speaker at international events for global organisations such as the WHO, and for American and British academies of audiology. He regularly features on national and international TV and radio channels, including CNN, Sky News, CNBC and the BBC. Prof Swanepoel is also Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Audiology and a former president of the International Society of Audiology. He holds several patents and is founder of hearX group, a digital health company.
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