Turkish students’ project wins in US

EDİRNE - Anatolia News Agency

The bee earphone project draws great interest in the U.S., and that many people have approached the Turkish group about obtaining the patent for the device. DHA photo

The “magnetic resonant bee earphone,” a device developed to treat tinnitus by a teacher and two students at a vocational high school in Edirne, recently competed with 1576 projects from around the world to take fourth place at the International Science and Engineering Fair Intel-ISEF Project Olympics in the U.S.

The project, developed by Keşan Anatolia Vocational High School Turkish language teacher Hasan Avcu and students Betül Büdün and Melek Danacı, previously won the İnepo Environmental Project Olympics in Turkey, and thereby won the right to represent Turkey at the International Science and Engineering Fair Intel-ISEF Project Olympics, held in Pittsburgh last week. Sixty-eight countries were represented at the fair by a total of 1576 projects, and the magnetic resonant bee earphone won fourth prize.

The earphone works to block tinnitus (ringing in the ears) in the auditory system. Thanks to its remedial effect on nerve fibers in the ear, tinnitus can be completely treated in some patients. Büdün said the developers of the project had worked with more than 30 patients while designing the device.

“The earphone, which sends bee [sound] signals, was successful in 87 percent of patients. Using bee sound frequencies, we succeeded in treating tinnitus, for which there was previously no treatment in Turkey or anywhere in the world.”

Büdün also said the project had drawn great interest in the U.S., and that many people, including a doctor and one of the founders and partners of Apple, had approached the group about obtaining the patent for the device. The students were greeted by Edirne Governor Gökhan Sözer upon their return to Turkey. “We were hopeful when we sent our students out into the world. This success is the success of Turkey. I congratulate the students, they made us proud,” he said.