Sarah Verhulst receives AstraZeneca Scientific Prize

AI-driven hearing test

Professor Sarah Verhulst of the Hearing Technology @WAVES Lab (UGent) developed an AI-driven hearing test that reveals the earliest signals of hearing loss—long before traditional tests detect anything.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), hearing loss affects around 5% of the world’s population. In many cases, the diagnosis comes late, when the damage is already advanced, even though the first signs are often present years earlier. Moreover, in an increasingly noisy world, hearing impairment is appearing at ever younger ages.

As research leader at the Hearing Technology @WAVES Lab (UGent), she wondered whether these earliest invisible forms of hearing damage could be detected sooner. Together with her team, she developed an AI-driven diagnostic test that does exactly that.

“We developed a test for extremely precise hearing diagnostics,” says Prof. Verhulst. “We use an auditory EEG method to measure the earliest signals of hearing loss. When we combine these measurements with a standard audiogram, we obtain a very detailed profile of the patient’s hearing loss.”

But it doesn’t stop at diagnosis. By using machine learning, her team also developed new audio-processing algorithms that can tailor sound much more precisely to the personal hearing profile of someone with hearing loss.

“These algorithms can respond much better to a person’s specific hearing problem than the technology we usually use today,” Prof. Verhulst explains. “They are promising for the next generation of earbuds, hearing aids, and consumer electronics, and we are seeing that both hearing-aid manufacturers and major technology companies are watching this closely.”

By detecting hearing loss earlier and better tailoring of sound processing to each patient, Prof. Verhulst aims to help lay the foundation for more personalised hearing solutions in the future.

AstraZeneca Scientific Prizes

Every year, since 2012, the Fund for Scientific Research (F.R.S.–FNRS) and the Research Foundation - Flanders (FWO) are in charge of the AstraZeneca Scientific Prizes designated for researchers in the intermediate stage of their career.
Three laureates are awarded with a € 25.000 euros prize (€ 12.500 euros are allocated to the laureate, € 12.500 euros to their laboratory) in recognition of innovative scientific research.
The Fund for Scientific Research (F.R.S.–FNRS) and the Research Foundation - Flanders (FWO) are in charge of collecting the applications and selecting both Belgian and international experts to designate the three laureates.

“The Foundation is particularly pleased to once again honour several top researchers from Belgium this year for their groundbreaking work in personalised treatments, including through the use of AI-driven tools. Their results clearly set the tone for the medicine of the future,” says Professor Jean-Luc Balligand, Chair of the AstraZeneca Foundation.