Project Title: Enhancing Mobility in Older Adults with Age-Related Hearing Loss: The Impact of Hearing Aid Use on Conscious Movement Processing, Fall-Related Anxiety, and Visuomotor Control.
The project is funded by the Hearing Industry Research Consortium, made up of researchers from top hearing aid manufacturers, and supports research projects that benefit the hearing aid industry and its customers.
In recent decades, the landscape of hearing devices, particularly hearing aids, as a pivotal step in audiological rehabilitation, has undergone a remarkable evolution. This transformation entails a shift from basic amplifiers to sophisticated instruments dynamically adapting to specific environments, offering contextually relevant benefits. Beyond their primary role in enhancing hearing, these devices now function as comprehensive health and well-being trackers, monitoring various aspects of auditory functioning, including physical, physiological, and mental well-being.
Understanding the intricate relationship between hearing loss, and the role of hearing aids on, conscious movement processing, fall-related anxiety, and motor actions in adults and older adults is crucial for developing targeted interventions to enhance mobility, safety, and overall well-being in older adults. The findings from this study may lead to better-designed hearing aids that consider mobility and safety factors and offer interventions to improve the quality of life for older adults with hearing loss in adults and older adults, promoting healthier aging in this population.
Project Title: Development of the HEAR-COMMAND Tool: An International Approach to Bring the ICF Core Sets for Hearing Loss into Audiologic Rehabilitation Practice.
This project is funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) under Project ID: 352015383 – SFB 1330, C4.
Its primary objective is to translate the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) concept, specifically the ICF Core Sets for Hearing Loss, into a theory-supported and practically manageable framework for rehabilitative audiology. The aim is to empower hearing healthcare practitioners with a scientifically grounded approach for assessing individual disability resulting from hearing impairment, as well as gauging the efficacy of hearing devices. This framework is designed to have optimum ecological validity and produce a sufficiently significant effect size across communication abilities, social interactions, and participation. The tool development procedure was a collaborative effort involving a team from multiple countries, including Germany, the USA, the Netherlands, and Egypt. This collaboration resulted in the creation of versions in English, German, and Arabic, making the tool accessible and applicable in various linguistic and cultural contexts.
The importance of this project is that “Functioning” is currently introduced as the third health indicator for rehabilitation complementing the established indicators of mortality and morbidity. Together, these three provide a complete set of indicators for monitoring the performance of health strategies in health systems. When applying functioning as the third health indicator across the five health strategies, it is fundamental to distinguish between biological health and lived health. Additionally, collecting information relevant to rehabilitation to enhance health information systems including system-level rehabilitation data and information on functioning utilizing the ICF and establishing and strengthening networks and partnerships in rehabilitation, particularly between low-, middle- and high-income countries are two of the 10 priority areas for action as identified by the Rehabilitation 2030 initiative.
Project Title: Enhancing Access to Hearing Healthcare for Korean Population: Development and Validation of a Culturally Tailored Korean Version of the HEAR COMMAND Tool
The HEAR COMMAND tool, built on a global standard and already validated in three languages, continues to attract persistent interest and requests for expansion into additional languages. This ongoing effort reflects a dedication to broadening the tool's accessibility to diverse linguistic communities. This project aimed to create and validate the Korean version of the HEAR COMMAND tool through the Korean community in the USA and South Korea to ensure its effectiveness and cultural relevance and contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of the impact of hearing loss on individuals worldwide. This developmental initiative is in line with a commitment to inclusivity and global applicability, acknowledging that hearing health is a universal concern that goes beyond linguistic and cultural boundaries.
Project Title: Hearing Loss and Voice Disorders: An Interdisciplinary Approach to Optimize Hearing Aids Fitting
Individuals with hearing loss can face specific challenges when communicating with speakers who have voice disorders, such as hoarseness or dysphonia. These challenges can range from difficulties in speech perception and increased listening effort to potential social and emotional consequences. Addressing the combined impact of hearing loss and voice disorders requires a holistic approach to improve communication outcomes and enhance the overall well-being of individuals with these conditions. The purpose of this study is to create standardized speech recognition tasks for the evaluation of speech perception of hoarseness by hearing-impaired listeners so it can be used to optimize hearing aid fitting.
Project Title: The Relationship between hearing loss and vestibular loss across the life span of adults and older adults: A Scoping Review
The relationship between hearing loss and vestibular loss across the lifespan of adults and older adults is an area of interest that involves understanding how changes in hearing and balance functions may be interconnected. Research in this area is crucial for a more holistic understanding of age-related sensory changes and for developing effective interventions that address both hearing and balance issues. As the population ages, recognizing and managing the interconnected nature of these sensory systems becomes increasingly important for promoting healthy aging and preventing related challenges. This project is conducted in collaboration with one of the researchers at the Department of Brain Sciences, Imperial College London.
Project Title: The Functioning-Based Assessments Model to Optimize the Overall Health and Well-Being of Individuals with Hearing Loss.
The primary goal of this project is to integrate assessments based on the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) into the process of audiologic rehabilitation. The study aims to contribute valuable insights into the holistic management of hearing loss, moving beyond the traditional focus on hearing aid utilization. By incorporating the ICF framework, the project seeks to provide a more nuanced understanding of the functional aspects related to hearing loss and to tailor rehabilitation strategies accordingly. The ultimate goal is to optimize the overall outcomes for individuals with hearing loss, promoting their active participation and well-being in various aspects of daily life. The project is pending IRB approval.
Project Title: A Mile in the Patient’s Shoes Who Are Living with Hearing Loss and Arthritis: Audiologist’s Empathy Through Embodied Virtual Reality
The purpose of this study is to measure the impact of and satisfaction with a learning activity using virtual reality along with a glove that limits hand-joint mobility to promote empathy among audiology students for patients living with physical impairments due to rheumatoid arthritis. This project aims to discover if virtual reality training can enhance empathy levels in audiology doctoral students, specifically in understanding and addressing the challenges faced by patients with ARHI and rheumatoid arthritis in using hearing aids
People with rheumatoid arthritis are more likely than other people to experience hearing loss, especially sensorineural hearing loss. People with rheumatoid arthritis often have 'manual dexterity' problems that may affect their ability to appropriately utilize the hearing aid as well as emotional and psychological problems when dealing with hearing issues. In the context of healthcare, empathy plays a crucial role in providing patient-centered care and fostering positive treatment outcomes. A lack of empathy in future hearing healthcare providers can hinder the ability to understand and address the 'manual dexterity', emotional and psychological aspects of patients dealing with hearing issues.
A high-fidelity, simulated patient experience using immersive technology such as virtual reality paired with haptic devices may have more salience, and therefore be more impactful and have longer-lasting effects. Virtual reality creates a sense of presence (the feeling of being there), plausibility (the feeling that events in virtual reality are happening), and embodiment (the feeling that you are inhabiting the virtual body). Studies have demonstrated that a simulated experience in VR can have longer-lasting effects on empathy and result in behaviors that exemplify empathy for the population represented compared to a traditional narrative-based perspective-taking intervention.