Sound Scouts for hearing tests fun developed in Australia

Sound Scouts aims to provide a hearing screening solution that brings together a fun game and scientific principles to provide immediate results. The hearing testing system was developed jointly with Australian Hearing’s research arm, the National Acoustic Laboratories. Australian Hearing is the country’s leading hearing specialist and largest provider of government-funded hearing services.

Founder Carolyn Mee, who has been developing the concept for five years, worked alongside programmer Cuauh Moreno and Dr Harvey Dillon from the National Acoustic Laboratories. Mee believes missing hearing loss can have dramatic effects on a child’s development, which inspired her to work on the app.

Mee also thinks that there is a timing question to be addressed. “While the screening of newborns has been successful in identifying hearing problems at birth, there is no consistent testing protocol for pre-schoolers or older children,” she says. “And yet by age 12, there are three times the number of children being fitted with hearing aids as there are at birth.” Mee explains that “Sound Scouts gives a clear indication of whether a child has a hearing loss. It is designed as a fun game, where children focus on the story and respond to the sound cues in the game.”

Source: Coach Nine