After two-and-a-half years of practical and scientific research, a Saudi student has invented a potentially breakthrough device for people with hearing disabilities that allows them to determine in which direction sound is coming from.

Mohammad Siraj Bakri, a student at Um Al-Qura University, has fitted spectacles with tiny microphones on all sides of the frame, connected to small globes, which light up in the direction of sound.

He invented the spectacles when he saw people with hearing disabilities having difficulty identifying the direction of sound. He said the spectacles would help people avoid accidents, particularly out on the streets when having to cross roads.

Bakri said hearing aids amplify sound, but there have never been spectacles that turn sound into light. He is in communication with several companies interested in the invention. He plans to patent the idea.

There are an estimated 720,000 Saudis with hearing disabilities in the country. There are few sign language interpreters, and inadequate health and other services for them. To encourage employees to learn sign language, the Ministry of Civil Service has given those who learn the language a 5 percent pay rise.

The Saudi Society for Speech-Language Pathology and Autism Spectrum Disorder will soon hold a conference in Jeddah on new treatments for these people and support for their families.

The Ministry of Health has approved the event for training hours. Mohammad Al-Qahtani, a psychiatrist, will deliver a lecture on obstacles that affect diagnosis and treatment of autism.

There will also be a workshop on hearing difficulties faced by some children with autism, led by Malik Abu Safiyah, director of the hearing center in Jeddah. The aim is to review research on the issue.

Behavioral therapist Mona Al-Hadda, will present a workshop on the new diagnostic book issued by the American Society for Psychological Sciences.