Eartest by Eartone Application Detects Dementia Risk by Checking the Hearing of Words in Thai language

The Faculties of Medicine and Science, Chulalongkorn University, in collaboration with University College London (UCL), the United Kingdom, together with industrial partner have developed Eartest by Eartone Application that examines hearing with Thai words. With this app, anyone and everyone can now initially screen for or assess the future risk of dementia by themselves before consulting physicians.

Currently, Thailand’s population of people aged 60 years and older is at 12 million, for which around 5-10 percent, or about 1 million, are at risk of dementia.  The most common types of dementia are Alzheimer’s and vascular dementia. When it occurs, dementia creates difficulties for the patients and their families. Since there is no definitive cure for dementia, preventing this mental disease is crucial.

According to brain specialist Assistant Professor Chaiyaphat Chunharasmi, M.D., “reduced hearing is the highest risk factor for developing dementia that can be prevented. As people age, regular hearing and brain activity check-ups will be beneficial. If in doubt, a doctor consultation should be conducted as soon as possible to check for symptoms.”

Nattawan Utoomprurkporn, M.D., a lecturer of the Department of Otolaryngology, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, explained that the Eartest project uses speech recognition to assess the potential risks of dementia.  It is a hearing test to determine the ability to comprehend words and sentences that are in the Thai language, using the virtual reality (VR) technique.  It simulates real situations, in which sounds are coming from different directions, to detect the processing of the brain in a native language use by patients. This can indicate whether there is a chance for dementia to occur in the next 5-10 years.

As recommended by the World Health Organization, those who should be screened for hearing loss are people over the age of 50.  The application is a Thai language hearing test with an assessment of the most important 12 indicators of dementia risk.

Prof. Dr. Stuart Rosen, a professor of linguistics at the University College London (UCL), explained that the Thai language is characterized by varying tones with different meanings. The international collaboration with researchers from Chulalongkorn University is driven by a common goal and vision to develop assessments for the hearing impaired, the elderly, and those who may have dementia using virtual reality techniques.  This is to make the assessment of the hearing more realistic and beneficial at a larger scale, applicable in many countries, and enhance the learning and knowledge exchange in the speech science.

The Eartest by Eartone Application was developed under the Thai Speech Acoustic Virtual Reality (Thai-SAVR) Test for the Detection of Early Dementia research project. The project was made possible through the impressive cooperation of several relevant sectors, including the Royal Academy of Engineering, the United Kingdom (through the British Embassy in Thailand); the University College London (UCL), the United Kingdom; the Program Management Unit for Competitiveness (PMUC); Office of National Higher Education Science Research and Innovation Policy Council (NXPO); and several of the university’s industrial partners. Additional cooperation was also made with the British Council and the Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation (MHESI), both of which gave support through the Thai-UK World-Class University Consortium.

Eartest by Eartone, a brief screening version of the full test battery, is currently available for free download on both iOS and Android. Install it on your phone today to have a self-hearing test to determine your risk of dementia before going to the hospital for further diagnosis and treatment.

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