Australian Hearing Hub

Workshop: Assessment and treatment approaches for children with reading and ...
2017-04-02 00:00 (Australia/Sydney)

The Nuffield Dyspraxia Programme
2017-03-13 00:00

Vestibular Rehabilitation: An Introductory Course
2017-03-13 00:00

AHH seminar: Focused vs. shared attention in multi-tasking
2017-03-07 00:00
Speaker: Ervin Hafter
Date: Thursday 23 March
Time: 10.00am -11.30am
Location: Australian Hearing Hub, Level 1, Lecture Theatre
Agenda:
10.00am – 10.05am – Welcome
10.05am – 10.45am – Presentation
10.45am – 11.00am – Q & A
11.00am – 11.30am – Networking & Refreshments
Abstract: Reduced performance found when we have to do two things at the same time is often blamed on informational overload, that is, on the need to share a limited attentional resource. Results to be shown here are from two quite different conditions that reflect the problem, describing: (1) responses to the levels of simple auditory and visual stimuli presented in a psychophysical dual task, (2) speech reception in a simulated cocktail party (albeit, w/o booze) where two talkers tell different stories with the variable cadence of natural speech. In both conditions, we examine differences in situations where there is a cost of shared attention (serial processing) and where there is not (parallel processing). Without promising closure on this ancient question, I will try to make a convincing argument saying that the cost of shared attention in both tasks depended upon a single distinction, the memories to which target stimuli were compared.
Bio:
Research Interests
Spatial hearing including: interactions between interaural time & intensity; binaural detection (MLDs) and perceived signal location; space coding spatial sensitivity in inferior colliculus; interaural timing in high-frequency envelopes; rate-related binaural & monaural adaptation; restarting binaural processing; cross-correlational modeling; auditory scene; importance of stimulus onsets; temporal weighting.
Cognitive effects including:Signal uncertainty; role of bandwidth; cuing and focused attention; shared attention and the cost of attention.
Hearing Impairment including: Precedence in patients with cochlear implants; cognitive in noise reduction; separate rules for phonetics and semantics in noisy environments; naturalistic environments for study of attention.
Education
1958 B.S. Psychology, Purdue Univ., W.Lafayette, Indiana
1959 Animal Behavior, R.B.Jackson Lab., Bar Harbor, Maine
1964 PhD, Psychology, Univ of Texas), Austin, TX, (w/L.A.Jeffress)
Research Positions
1966 Res. Sci. Aud. Perception/Signal detection, Tracor Corp., Austin, TX
2002 Prof. Emeritus, Psychology, UC Berkeley
Pres. Prof. of the Graduate School, UC Berkeley
Who should come: hearing, speech and language researchers and clinicians, cognitive scientists, psychologists, researchers in aging health and health care professionals.
Network: Learn from one another and see what collaboration opportunities are available.
Registration: Entry is free and open to the public. Please register by Monday 20 March 2017 to louise.dodd@mq.edu.au

AHH Seminar - Developmental Plasticity of the Brain's Connectome
2017-02-28 00:00
Presentation Title: Developmental Plasticity of the Brain’s Connectome
Speaker: Professor Andrej Kral
Date: Wednesday 8 March
Time: 4.00pm – 5.30pm
Location: Australian Hearing Hub, Level 1, Lecture Theatre
Agenda:
4.00pm – 4.05pm – Welcome
4.05pm – 4.45pm – Presentation
4.45pm – 5.00pm – Q & A
5.00pm – 5.30pm – Networking & Refreshments (cheese & wine)
Abstract: Postnatal development includes progressive and regressive brain changes, some of them dependent on experience. Using a natural model of congenital deafness, the deaf white cat, our team has focused on effects of sensory experience on the structure and function of the auditory system. We use cochlear implants to test the auditory function in deaf animals and provide deaf animals with a portable signal processor and a cochlear implant to initiate hearing experience at different ages. We could demonstrate deficits in cortical maturation and a delayed and altered cortical synaptic development in congenital deafness. Reduced feature sensitivity, as we have further shown, complicates the starting point for learning after restoration of hearing. Chronic electrical stimulation prevented many of the maturational deficits, provided stimulation was initiated within early sensitive periods. We further studied visual function of the cortical auditory areas in deafness and demonstrated an areal-specific crossmodal reorganization. Although in the reorganized areas the auditory responsive neurons were not significantly reduced in number, recruitment of neurons for visual tasks likely reduces the auditory computational capacity in the given area. Finally, corticocortical connections were studied both anatomically and functionally. Based on our layer-specific recordings in primary auditory cortex we previously suggested a corticocortical decoupling in deafness. Using tracer experiments and functional studies we find reduced bottom-up and top-down cortical information transfer in deafness. Such compromised top-down processing in the auditory cortex is likely participating on the closure of sensitive periods.

Bio: Andrej Kral was born in Bratislava, studied general medicine at the Comenius University (MD 1993, PhD 1998). His first research position was at the Institute of Pathological Physiology (1992 – 1995). In collaboration with the Mathematical Institute (Prof. V. Majernik) he worked on computer models of neuronal networks. In 1995, at the Institute of Sensory Physiology, J.W.Goethe University, Frankfurt am Main (Head: Prof. R. Klinke) the focus of research moved to cochlear implants. He was appointed associate professor of physiology (“Priv.-Doz.”) at J.W.Goethe University in 2002. In 2004 he was offered a position of a tenured professor of neurophysiology at the Institute of Neurophysiology, University of Hamburg. Since 2009 he has been Chair and Professor of Auditory Neurophysiology at the Medical University Hannover and the director of research of the ENT clinics. Andrej Kral leads the Dept. of Experimental Otology and the Institute of AudioNeuroTechnology. Since 2004 he has been Adjunct Professor of Neuroscience and Cognition at The University of Texas at Dallas, USA. The focus of research includes neuroscience of deafness, cochlear implants, auditory development, brain plasticity, cross-modal reorganization and neuroprosthetic stimulation. The research has been published, among others, in New England Journal of Medicine, Science, Lancet Neurology, Nature Neuroscience, Trends in Neuroscience, Brain, Journal of Neuroscience and Cerebral Cortex, he gave more than 100 invited talks at international conferences and institutes in US and Europe. Together with A.N.Popper and R.R.Fay he edited the volume of the Springer Handbook of Auditory Research on Deafness (vol. 47). The lab received funding from German Research Society (DFG), Common Scientific Conference Germany, State of Hamburg and State of Lower Saxony, NIH, EU and cochlear implant companies.
Lab website: http://www.neuroprostheses.com
Who should come: hearing, speech and language researchers and clinicians, cognitive scientists, psychologists, researchers in aging health and health care professionals.
Network: Learn from one another and see what collaboration opportunities are available.
Registration: Entry is free and open to the public. Please register by Monday 6 March 2017 to louise.dodd@mq.edu.au

NDIS Information Session
2017-02-22 00:00
This information session is designed to help people with disabilities, as well as their families and carers, get ready for the National Disability Insurance Scheme that has commenced in your area on 1 July 2016. The session will cover topics such as:

What is the NDIS and how does it work?
Am I eligible for the NDIS?
What will happen if I am made eligible?
What kind of support can I access through the NDIS?

The information session is also a perfect opportunity to bring your questions along and have them answered by experience NDIS staff members.
Location: Australian Hearing Hub, Level 1, Lecture Theatre, 16 University Ave, Macquarie University
Date: Monday 6 March 2017
Time: 5.00pm – 6.30pm
Auslan Interpreter, Captions and Hearing Loop available
RSVP by 3 March 2017 to shhh@netspace.net.au with names of those attending.
Please mention when booking if there are any specific requirements.

RIDBC celebrates International Cochlear Implant Day
2017-02-16 00:00
Nine-year-old, Nahkiaya, is one of many people with hearing loss to benefit from life changing technology – the cochlear implant.

On Saturday 25 February, Royal Institute for Deaf and Blind Children (RIDBC) will be celebrating International Cochlear Implant Day, and the timely biography book launch of SCIC Cochlear Implant Program’s Founding Director, Professor Bill Gibson AO.
Professor Gibson moved from his position as a leading ENT consultant in the UK to become the inaugural Professor of Otolaryngology at the University of Sydney in 1983. The following year he performed the very first cochlear implant operation in New South Wales. He never stopped striving to help people with hearing loss in Australia and around the world and by 2005 he had implanted 1000 people, which represented one third of all the people in Australia with the bionic ear.
Today, one in six Australians is deaf or hard of hearing. As technology advances, there are more possibilities than ever before for Australians with hearing loss to thrive in all aspects of family community and working life.
To mark how cochlear implants have transformed the lives of thousands of recipients around the world, RIDBC is planning a day of celebration and awareness on February 25 and invites families and the local community to come and enjoy a fun-filled day at SCIC Cochlear Implant Program, a service of RIDBC.
We will be offering free hearing assessments on the day and will be bringing together and sharing the success stories from cochlear implant recipients as well as the professionals who work with cochlear implantation.
The free event full of fun activities including a sausage sizzle, petting zoo and giant games for the family will be held at SCIC Cochlear Implant Program Gladesville, Building 39, Old Gladesville Hospital, Punt Road, Gladesville, from 11am – 3pm.
SCIC Cochlear Implant Program, an RIDBC service, is Australia’s largest and most comprehensive cochlear implant program, setting new benchmarks and delivering the highest level of care and support at every stage of the cochlear implant journey.
The program provides the highest level of care and support through a seamless, end-to-end suite of services, from early intervention and education for children with hearing loss; through to specialist assessment, surgical liaison and re/habilitation support for people of all ages.
To learn more about RIDBC’s SCIC Cochlear Implant Program, visit ridbc.org.au/scic or call 1300 658 981.
Copies of Professor Bill Gibson’s biography entitled, Bill Gibson: Pioneering Bionic Ear Surgeon will be available to purchase on the day at SCIC Cochlear Implant Program, Gladesville.
Media are invited to attend:
What: International Cochlear Implant Day BBQ and Professor Bill Gibson’s biography book launch
When: Saturday 25 February, 2017
Time: 10.30am – 11.30am: Professor Bill Gibson’s biography book launch and media interviews
11am – 3pm: International Cochlear Implant Day BBQ and family fun day
Where: SCIC Cochlear Implant Program
Building 39, Old Gladesville Hospital
Punt road
Gladesville NSW 2111

For media enquiries, please contact:
Melissa Henningham, RIDBC Communications Manager on 9872 0334 or 0448 919 723

Linda Berrigan, RIDBC Director Marketing & Communications on 9872 0304 or 0478 119 066

Implementing and disseminating e-mental health interventions
2017-02-12 00:00

AHH Seminar: ABC of Communication (Auditory processing, Bilingualism, and Cognition) ...
2017-02-05 00:00
Date: Thursday 16 February
Time: 9.00am-12.15pm
Location: Australian Hearing Hub,Level 1, Lecture Theatre
Program:

9:00 – 9:05: Introduction by Associate Professor Mridula Sharma (Department of Linguistic, Australian Hearing Hub)
9:05 – 9:45: “The role of motivation in listening effort” by Professor Mary Rudner (Department of Behavioural Sciences and Learning, Linköping University, Sweden)
Abstract: Hard of hearing people often report listening effort but it has been unclear how this phenomenon can be captured theoretically. A Framework for Understanding Effortful Listening (FUEL) represents the consensus reached at the Fifth Eriksholm Workshop on Hearing Impairment and Cognitive Energy. FUEL builds on the well-established role of cognition in hearing but also adds a motivational dimension. This talk will focus on the role of motivation in listening effort.
9:45 – 10:15: “Effects of noise exposure and musical training on the neural encoding of sounds. What factors determine our ability to understand speech in noise?“ by Dr Joaquin Valderrama-Valenzuela (National Acoustic Laboratories, Australian Hearing Hub)
Abstract: Speech comprehension in the human brain involves both a very sophisticated neural structure that encodes the sounds we hear into patterns of electrical activity, and cognitive abilities that enable the integration of the received information with previously acquired knowledge. Understanding the effects that external factors like musical training and noise exposure have on our auditory neural architecture, as well as determining the main cognitive factors influencing speech comprehension, may help in the design of efficient strategies for prevention and treatment of communication deficits.
10:15-10:35: Break
10:35 – 11:05: “The influence of the linguistic experience on words-in-noise recognition scores in adults“ by Associate Professor Josée Lagacé (Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Ottawa, Canada)
Abstract: Non-native listeners typically score lower on speech-in-noise test than native listeners with the same hearing ability, but not much is known about the influence of knowing more than one language in one’s ability to perceive speech in noise. The goal of this study is to examine the influence of the linguistic experience of normal-hearing adults speaking two or more languages on a words-in-noise test. The results will be presented, and how audiologists can get a clearer portrait of the ability to hear speech in noise in bilingual populations is discussed.
11:05-11:30: “The NAL Dynamic Conversations Test and its relation to cognition” by Dr Gitte Keidser (National Acoustic Laboratories, Australian Hearing Hub)
Abstract: A new Dynamic Conversations Test developed at the National Acoustic Laboratories (NAL-DCT) is designed to parallel mental processes involved in higher-level communication. Evaluated in 41 older adults with varied degree of hearing loss, we found that NAL-DCT was as sensitive to changes in hearing, signal-to-noise ratio, and amplification as is a traditional sentence recall test, with NAL-DCT additionally being sensitive to a cognitive construct tapping into verbal processing resources.
11:30-12:00: “Reported measures of listening effort“ by Ms Sarah Hughes (South Wales Cochlear Implant Programme, UK) and Dr Isabelle Boisvert (Department of Linguistic, Australian Hearing Hub)
Abstract: Listening to speech in background noise or with a hearing loss is known to be effortful. The effort experienced is assumed to be the result of the increased cognitive load needed to understand speech and the individual’s motivation to listen. This presentation will discuss the consistency between the reported experience of listening effort and current theory, and how this can inform the development of validated clinical tools.
12:00-12:15: General discussion – the audience + all presenters.

Who should come: Hearing, speech and language researchers and clinicians, cognitive scientists, psychologists, researchers in ageing health and health care professionals.
Network: Learn from one another and see what collaboration opportunities are available.
Registration: Entry is free and open to the public. Please email louise.dodd@mq.edu.au to register by Monday 13 February 2017

Auslan 1 and 2
2017-01-31 00:00

Planning and Programming for Auslan Curriculum Implementation
2017-01-31 00:00

Improving the Outcomes of Students who are deaf or hard ...
2017-01-31 00:00

The Developing Lexicon: Representations and Processing
2017-01-30 00:00

AHH seminar: Consequences of Asymmetric Hearing in Development: Evidence ...
2016-10-27 00:00
Speaker: Karen Gordon
Date: Thursday 3 November 2016
Time: 3.00pm – 4.30pm
Location: Australian Hearing Hub, Level 1, Lecture Theatre
Abstract: Our aim is to promote binaural hearing in children which supports listening in most social and academic settings. Studies of children using cochlear implants unilaterally, bilaterally or in combination with hearing aids (bimodally) reveals: 1) delayed access to bilateral hearing results in an aural preference syndrome which deters binaural hearing; and 2) bilateral input with minimal delay supports expected responses from auditory cortices; but also that 3) binaural integration is not yet achieved by two independent auditory prostheses.
Bio: Karen Gordon, PhD, is a Professor in the Department of Otolaryngology and a Graduate Faculty Member in the Institute of Medical Science at the University of Toronto. She is Director of Research in Archie’s Cochlear Implant Laboratory and holds the Bastable-Potts Health Clinician Scientist Award in Hearing Impairment and Cochlear Americas Chair of Auditory Development. Karen’s research focuses on auditory development in children who are deaf and use auditory prostheses including cochlear implants. The following questions are asked: 1) What aspects of auditory and vestibular development are arrested in children with hearing loss; 2) What changes in the auditory and vestibular system occur during the period of deafness; 3) To what extent can auditory and vestibular plasticity and development be promoted by cochlear implant use?; and 4) what compensatory mechanisms in development can be exploited to make up for deficits in input from auditory prostheses? To answer these questions, we use both behavioural and electrophysiological measures and are interested in innovations in cochlear implant design and programming which seek to improve the resilience of the device as well as to preserve residual hearing and binaural cues.
Who should come: hearing, speech and language researchers and clinicians, cognitive scientists, psychologists, researchers in aging health and health care professionals.
Network: Learn from one another and see what collaboration opportunities are available.
Registration: Entry is free and open to the public. Please email louise.dodd@mq.edu.au to register by 12.00pm Tuesday 1 November 2016

AHH seminar: Deafblindness Rehabilitation: How to base our practice on ...
2016-10-27 00:00
Speaker: Walter Wittich
Date: Monday 21 November 2016
Time: 1.00pm – 2.30pm
Location: Australian Hearing Hub, Level 1, Audiology Seminar Room, 1.64
Abstract: This presentation will provide a brief overview of the concept of Knowledge Translation, using the model promoted by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, and then applies this model to the existing approaches, knowledge and research literature. The talk will review some of the pertinent research findings in the field of deafblindness rehabilitation, and how this knowledge can link to and influence rehabilitation practice for clinicians working with individuals affected by combined vision and hearing loss.
Bio: Dr. Walter Wittich is an Assistant Professor at the School of Optometry at the University of Montreal, in Montreal, Quebec, who currently holds a Junior Career Award from the Fonds de recherche du Québec – Santé (chercheur boursier junior 1), with specific focus on the rehabilitation of older adults with combined vision and hearing loss. He is a resident researcher at both the MAB-Mackay Rehabilitation Centre and the Institut Nazareth et Louis-Braille, and holds an appointment as Adjunct Professor at the School of Occupational and Physical Therapy at McGill University. Following his Master’s in Psychology (Concordia U) and a PhD in Visual Neuroscience (McGill), he completed a postdoctoral fellowship in audiology at the Centre de recherche institut universitaire de gériatrie de Montréal. Coming from a background in age related vision loss, he now conducts research in dual sensory impairment and acquired deaf-blindness. His research domains include basic sensory science, as well as medical, psychosocial, and rehabilitation approaches to sensory loss. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Optometry and is Quebec’s first Certified Low Vision Therapist.
Who should come: Hearing, speech and language researchers and clinicians, cognitive scientists, psychologists, researchers in ageing health and health care professionals.
Network: Learn from one another and see what collaboration opportunities are available.
Registration: Entry is free and open to the public. Please email louise.dodd@mq.edu.au to register by 12.00pm Wednesday 16 November 2016

AHH seminar: Bridging the gap between bilateral cochlear implants and ...
2016-10-25 00:00
Speaker: Zachary Smith
Date: Friday 28 October 2016
Time: 2.00pm – 3.30pm
Location: Australian Hearing Hub, Level 4, NAL seminar room (enter via Australian Hearing Reception, Level 5)
Bio: Zachary Smith is Director of Coding Research at Cochlear Limited’s Research & Technology Labs, based in Denver, Colorado. He investigates basic auditory perception of electrical stimulation and develops new algorithms for better hearing with a cochlear implant. Dr. Smith received his PhD from the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.
Abstract: Listening in complex acoustic environments remains a challenge for recipients of cochlear implants. While bilateral implantation generally improves hearing performance with the addition of a second ear, evidence suggests that much of the benefit can be attributed to monaural effects and little usage of interaural time difference (ITD) cues. A temporally sparse coding strategy, FAST, was developed with the aims of 1) delivering more salient ITD cues and 2) increasing power efficiency. While initial results show success with achieving significantly improved ITD sensitivity and even binaural unmasking in some listeners with the FAST strategy, additional challenges with bilateral cochlear implants will be discussed in the context that multiple sources of binaural cue distortion need to be solved before the promise of true binaural hearing can be fully realized.
Who should come: hearing, speech and language researchers and clinicians, cognitive scientists, psychologists, researchers in aging health and health care professionals.
Network: Learn from one another and see what collaboration opportunities are available.
Registration: Entry is free and open to the public. Please email louise.dodd@mq.edu.au to register by 2.00pm Thursday 27 October 2016

CCD seminar: Differential empathy for psychological and physical pain in ...
2016-09-27 00:00

AHH seminar: Scalp-recorded CAEPs: How can we use a measure ...
2016-09-27 00:00
Speaker: David Jackson Morris
Date: Thursday 20 October 2016
Time: 2.00pm – 3.30pm
Location: Australian Hearing Hub, Level 1, Lecture Theatre
Bio: David Jackson Morris lectures and does postdoc research (publication list here*) in a combined Speech Pathology and Audiology programme at the ashram, otherwise known as, the Dept of Nordic Studies and Linguistics, University of Copenhagen. Research that he is pursuing involves CAEPs, uniqueness points in auditory-lexical processing, and telehealth interaction across procedures and media. Morris has also worked in the Danish private sector, and originally hails from Queensland.
Abstract: While cortical responses are commonly termed ‘obligatory’ and ‘pre-attentive,’ their precise dimensions are modulated by the attention state of the subject. This talk will deal with the effect of attention on N1-P2 responses as measured with an intermodal paradigm involving continuous auditory stimulation. It will also review experience with non-canonical CAEP single-trial analysis, including mixed-effects regression and machine classification. Finally, the applicability of scalp-recorded electrical responses will be considered as a means to support speech perception.
Who should come: hearing, speech and language researchers and clinicians, cognitive scientists, psychologists, researchers in ageing health and health care professionals.
Network: Learn from one another and see what collaboration opportunities are available.
Registration: Entry is free and open to the public.
Please email louise.dodd@mq.edu.au to register by 17 October 2016.

Announcing a talk at NAL
2016-09-19 00:00
Announcing a talk at NAL

Presenter
Bram Van Dun, Senior Research Electrophysiologist, NAL

Title
New project: Estimating thresholds at individual cochlear implant (CI) electrodes using cortical auditory evoked potentials (CAEPs) recorded with a clinical EEG system (ie. HEARLab)

Date
Tuesday 4 October 2016

Time
10:00am

Description
This talk will first present some background on the need for alternative ways to fit cochlear implants opposed to what is currently being employed in the CI clinic. It will then provide a selected overview on the work that has been conducted already, both at NAL and in the literature re the use of CAEPs for threshold estimation in CI users (and how to deal with inevitable CI artefacts). Finally, a research methodology is proposed to compare between thresholds obtained at individual CI electrodes behaviourally, and those derived from CAEPs using the two-channel clinical HEARLab system. This project is in its conceptual stage, so any feedback on the proposed research methodology is welcome!

Location
Denis Byrne Seminar Room, Level 4 Australian Hearing Hub

Audience
All with an interest in the topic are welcome.

Macquarie Minds Showcase
2016-08-31 00:00
Macquarie University’s Australian Hearing Hub will be hosting four break out sessions:
Tuning In: Understanding Communication Challenges Over The Lifespan
Date: 13 December
Time: 1.00pm – 3.00pm
Tuning In: Using Technology To Fight Back Against Communication Challenges
Date: 13 December
Time: 3.00pm – 5.00pm
Communication access: Captioning, sign language interpreting and hearing loops will be available at the presentations.
The event is free and afternoon tea will be provided.
Breaking Down The Invisible Barriers Between The Deaf And The Hearing
Date: 14 December
Time: 3.00pm – 4.30pm
Building solid foundations for Learning and Life
Date: 14 December
Time: 3.00pm – 4.30pm
To register: please go to Macquarie Minds Showcase event page.

Macquarie Minds Showcase
Bringing together a compelling group of visionaries, researchers and experts across diverse fields, this two-day event showcases the power of research that transcends traditional academic boundaries to shape a more positive future.
By providing our world-leading academics with a platform to showcase their research and teaching expertise, Macquarie Minds will highlight the University’s key strategic priorities and commitment to providing a culture of transformative learning in a research-enriched environment.

Silent disco trivia night
2016-08-15 00:00
A short silent disco research event will be held as part of the usual UBar Trivia Competition.
The focus of the study is people’s sound quality preferences.
We provide the tunes and the headphones!
You just fill in a survey, dance and have fun!
Date: Thursday 25 August 2016
Time: 4.30pm – 6.30pm
Location: UBar, Level 2, The Hub, Macquarie University
For questions or RSVP: rikke.sorensen@nal.gov.au

Hear for You, The Butterfly Effect & Goodfellas
2016-08-12 00:00

Objective measures in normal and cochlear implant listeners
2016-08-04 00:00
Speaker: Hamish Innes-Brown
Date: Friday 12 August 2016
Time: 10:00am – 11:00am
Location: Australian Hearing Hub, Level 1, Lecture Theatre
Abstract:
Hamish will talk about two areas of research currently under way at the Bionics Institute in Melbourne: cochlear implant threshold estimation using cortical potentials, and also touch on very recent work in normal-hearing listener looking at brain responses to changes in inter-aural phase.
Stimulation threshold levels for cochlear implants are currently set by manually adjusting current levels for individual electrodes until the patient reports that they perceive sound. This process is time consuming even in healthy adults, and impossible in young children or others who cannot provide verbal responses or follow instructions. For this reason, objective measures that detect stimulus-induced electrical activity generated in the auditory nerve and brainstem are sometimes used (ECAPs, EABRs) to set cochlear implant threshold levels. However, these measures do not correlate well with actual behavioural thresholds. Cortical activity, which may reflect more perceptually-related activity, is therefore a better candidate for objectively fitting cochlear implants. In this study we found strong correlations between cortical responses and behavioural thresholds (r = 0.93), suggesting that the cortical response may be more useful as an objective programming tool for cochlear implants than the auditory nerve response.
Bio:
Hamish Innes-Brown is an NHMRC Early-Career Research Fellow at the Bionics Institute. He has a life-long interest in sensory aspects of sound, vision, and communication. At the Bionics Institute he is using brainwave recordings and perceptual tests to understand and improve the way that sounds are interpreted by people with hearing loss. Perceiving sounds properly is crucial for communication and function in complex social, education, and work environments.

AHH seminar: Evidence in hearing and ENT; trials and beyond. ...
2016-07-25 00:00
Speaker: Professor Anne Schilder
Date: Tuesday 23 August, 2016
Time: 2.30pm – 4.00pm
Location: Australian Hearing Hub, Level 1, Lecture Theatre
Bio: Anne is an ENT surgeon and a trialist. She leads evidENT, a multidisciplinary clinical research team that bridges the University College London Ear Institute’s discovery science and the Royal National Throat Nose and Ear Hospital’s clinical excellence. Her work spans the translational research pathway. Recent successes include an EU Horizon 2020 award for a phase 1/2 trial of local treatment with a Notch inhibitor aimed at restoring hearing in adults with sensorineural hearing loss. And an NIHR award for a 7-year programme of work to determine best management for patients with chronic sinus disease.
Anne is a Professor of Otorhinolaryngology at the UCL Ear Institute and at the University Medical Center Utrecht in the Netherlands and practices Paediatric ENT at the UCLH Royal National Throat, Nose and Ear Hospital. She is the Joint Co-ordinating Editor for Cochrane ENT and National Lead for the NIHR Clinical Research Network ENT Specialty.
Abstract: Based on Anne’s work in otitis media and hearing she will discuss how randomised controlled trials (RCTs) have answered important clinical questions in hearing and ENT and have generated evidence upon which clinical guidelines and health policies are based. Anne will show how beyond generating data on the effects of treatments, RCTs provide a rich source of socio-demographic and biological data for prognostic and etiologic research.
Throughout the research of her evidENT team they work closely with patients and their families to decide what they will be researching and how. Anne will show how through this approach they have developed the National Research Agenda for ENT, Hearing and Balance which will shape UK research in the field for the next decade.
Who should come: hearing, speech and language researchers and clinicians, cognitive scientists, psychologists, researchers in aging health and health care professionals.
Network: Learn from one another and see what collaboration opportunities are available.
Registration: Entry is free and open to the public. Please email louise.dodd@mq.edu.au to register by 16 August 2016.

Speech intelligibility modelling in noisy rooms
2016-07-18 00:00
Speaker: Dr Mathieu Lavandier, University of Lyon, France
Date: Monday 1 August 2016
Time: 2:00pm – 3:00pm
Location: Australian Hearing Hub, Level 4, National Acoustic Laboratories, Denis Byrne Room

Abstract
Speech intelligibility in noise is improved by having two normally-functioning ears. These two ears allow for spatial release from masking: a noise source is less masking for speech if the target speaker and the noise source are at different positions. The underlying unmasking mechanisms are unfortunately impaired by reverberation, the sound reflections in the room surrounding the sources and listener. If the “noise” source is a competing voice, the listener can rely on other acoustical cues to segregate it from the target voice. Modulations in the temporal envelope of the competing voice allow for a better understanding of the target, the listener benefiting from the temporal “gaps” in the masker to access the target at a better signal-to-noise ratio. Again, reverberation impairs this mechanism by partly filling in the masker gaps. A difference in fundamental frequency between the competing voices can also be used by the listener to improve segregation. These different perceptual mechanisms involved while listening to speech in noisy rooms will be describe through the presentation of an intelligibility prediction model, which will be systematically confronted with behavioural data. This type of model is an interesting tool to investigate speech understanding in cocktail-party situation. One of our aim is to further develop this tool to take into account the influence of hearing impairment and hearing aids in realistic situations.

Bio
Mathieu Lavandier is a senior researcher at the University of Lyon in France and is a visiting associate in the Department of Linguistics at Macquarie University until mid-January. He is based at NAL. His research concerns sound perception in rooms, involving psychoacoustics, room acoustics and speech intelligibility modelling. His visit is partly funded by a visiting research fellowship from the Faculty of Human Sciences.

Celebrating Hearing Awareness Week at Macquarie University Open Day
2016-07-18 00:00

Free music lessons for children with hearing loss
2016-07-18 00:00
We are recruiting children aged 7 to 9 years with:
· cochlear implants AND/OR
· hearing aids

What your child will do:
Play musical apps at home (30 minutes a day, 3 times a week).
Face-to-face group music lessons (6 sessions, once a month) and test sessions (4 sessions, 1 hour each) at Macquarie University.
Duration of study:
6 months (commencing September 2016, or April 2017)
Receive $15 at commencement and completion
Contact: Chi Yhun Lo , chi.lo@mq.edu.au, (02) 9850 81
