Cough won’t go away? Smart tech app can help you keep track of a persistent cough

(BPT) – Did you know coughing is one of the most common reasons to visit a doctor? For those who have a persistent cough, including the estimated 12 million adults in the U.S. who live with chronic cough (a cough lasting longer than eight weeks), it can be difficult to explain to your health care provider how often you cough and how it may affect your daily life. Fortunately, there is an app powered by artificial intelligence (AI) to help people monitor their cough trends.Merck has partnered with Hyfe, the global leader in AI-powered cough detection, to launch CoughTracker as part of The Cough Chronicles, an educational resource for people living with chronic cough sponsored by Merck in collaboration with the American Lung Association, the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America and the Allergy & Asthma Network.CoughTracker is a free, easy-to-use, healthy living app that can help track and visualize the number of times you cough over a certain time period. When used daily, it can provide you with details about your cough patterns and help uncover triggers of your cough that you might not have noticed before. You can use this information to talk with your health care provider about how often you cough or how it’s affecting your life.“We often hear from people with a persistent cough that it can be challenging to manage their condition on their own. We are excited that CoughTracker may help provide information about one’s cough frequency and facilitate a conversation between patients and their health care providers,” said Bev Stewart, National Senior Director of Health Promotions at the American Lung Association.Using CoughTracker is easy. You can choose when the app listens for your cough, capturing the sound of each cough and allowing you to review them. CoughTracker identifies the sounds that might be coughs. These sounds are then analyzed and once confirmed as coughs through AI technology, they are recorded on your own dashboard. You can see how many times you cough and when your cough is occurring.When the app is running, every time there is a cough-like sound the app records a very short sample — only half a second to determine if the sound is a cough. You can pause or stop CoughTracker from recording your cough at any time. CoughTracker also allows you to set a reminder to turn the app on at certain times of the day, like at your usual bedtime, so you can track your cough while sleeping.If you have a persistent cough, download CoughTracker by visiting TheCoughChronicles.com, so you can start collecting more information about your cough. CoughTracker, powered by Hyfe with funding and support by Merck & Co., Inc., should not be used to diagnose or treat any health conditions.