A 13-year-old student from Chiang Mai is set to take part in Google's Science Fair and share his new hearing aid device with the world.
Hemawit Varith, a seventh grader (Mathayom 1) at Varee Chiangmai International School, is preparing to present his invention next month at Google's headquarters in California, US, after he secured a place in the final round of the science competition among 20 kids, between 13 to 18 years of age worldwide.
Google had challenged enthusiasts to look for new ideas and solutions for problems that were "worth solving".
This led Hemawit to address a major health issue that affects a number of people -- hearing impairment.
"More than 422 million people worldwide suffer from some form of hearing problem," Hemawit told the Bangkok Post.
"I just want to help them."
The boy spent many days thinking of what he could do. He talked to several people with hearing disorders, however, his solution did not come until he picked up a guitar to play while watching TV.
He found it hard to hear the guitar so he moved his face closer to the instrument, he said.
"When my chin touched the guitar, its sounds became louder and I heard it more clearly," Hemawit recalled.
This gave him the idea of inventing a homemade bone conduction hearing aid device, a prototype he called "EarZ".
Talks with several people suffering hearing impairment also led Hemawit to believe that such people needed to improve their speaking too.
