Australian Hearing Hub

AHH seminar: Acoustic Experience Alters How You See the World ...
2017-08-21 00:00 (Australia/Sydney)
Speaker: Professor Stephen Lomber
Date: Monday 11 December
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:
Cortical plasticity is the neural mechanism by which the cerebrum adapts itself to its environment, while at the same time making it vulnerable to impoverished sensory or developmental experiences. Like the visual system, auditory development passes through a series of sensitive periods in which circuits and connections are established and then refined by experience. During these periods, the functional maturation of auditory processing and perception is critically dependent on adequate auditory experience. Unfortunately, in cases of sensory deprivation, such as congenital deafness, this process is arrested. Fortunately, it appears that this situation can be reversed in individuals that receive cochlear prosthetics.
Current research is expanding our understanding of cerebral processing and organization in the deaf. In the congenitally deaf, higher-order areas of “deaf” auditory cortex demonstrate significant crossmodal plasticity with neurons responding to visual and somatosensory stimuli. This crucial cerebral function results in adaptive, compensatory plasticity. Not only can the remaining inputs reorganize to substitute for those lost, but this additional circuitry also confers enhanced abilities to the remaining systems. In this presentation, we will review our present understanding of the structure and function of “deaf” auditory cortex using psychophysical, electrophysiological, and connectional anatomy approaches and consider how this knowledge informs our expectations of the capabilities of cochlear implants in the developing brain.
Biography:
Stephen G. Lomber, Ph.D. is a Professor of Physiology, Psychology, and Neuroscience at the University of Western Ontario (Canada) where he holds the Canada Research Chair in Brain Plasticity and Development. Dr. Lomber holds degrees in Neurobiology from the University of Rochester (B.Sc.) and the Boston University School of Medicine (Ph.D.). Dr. Lomber directs the Cerebral Systems Laboratory (www.cerebralsystems.ca) and is a Principal Investigator in the Canadian National Centre for Audiology and the Brain and Mind Institute. Dr. Lomber’s lab uses an integrated approach of psychophysics, electrophysiological recording, neuroanatomical techniques, and functional imaging to examine processing in the auditory cortex. The lab has pioneered the use of focal cooling to reversibly deactivate regions of the cerebrum. Work in his lab examines cortical plasticity in the presence and absence of acoustic input, and following the initiation of auditory processing through the means of cochlear prosthetics.

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 Wednesday 6 December 2017 to louise.dodd@mq.edu.au

Professor Eric Storch (University of South Florida, USA) – “The ...
2017-08-17 00:00

Celebrating Hearing Awareness Week at Macquarie University Open Day
2017-08-07 00:00

GP event - Hearing Health
2017-08-07 00:00

Reading development and teaching: It all starts with words- International ...
2017-07-25 00:00

Assessment and treatment approaches for children with reading and spelling ...
2017-07-25 00:00

Noise in classrooms- Guest Presenter Dr Kiri Mealings
2017-07-25 00:00

Department of Cognitive Science Research Showcase
2017-07-10 00:00

How to make evidence-based decisions about treatments for poor readers ...
2017-06-27 00:00

Working memory and reading difficulties
2017-06-27 00:00

AHH seminar: Exploring primary auditory neuron physiology
2017-06-16 00:00
Speaker: Karina Needham
Date: Monday 26 June
Time: 1.30pm – 3.00pm
Location: Australian Hearing Hub, Level 1, Lecture Theatre
Agenda:
1.30pm – 1.35pm – Welcome
1.35pm – 2.15pm – Presentation
2.15pm – 2.30pm – Q & A
2.30pm – 3.00pm – Networking & Refreshments
Abstract: Primary auditory neurons provide the critical link between the inner ear and brain. To understand and improve our treatment of hearing loss, it is important that we understand the physiology of these neurons, and their response to therapeutics and novel forms of stimulation. In our lab we use patch-clamp electrophysiology to study the electrical activity of primary auditory neurons in culture as a way to explore how neural function (and the ion channels that control this) are influenced by neurotrophins, and how this population can be activated by optical stimulation. This talk will provide an overview of recent research, including our assessment of which culture conditions and models best reflect the native physiological properties of auditory neurons.
Bio: Karina received her PhD from the University of Melbourne in 2006, followed by postdoctoral positions at the Bionics Institute, La Trobe University and the University of Melbourne (Anatomy & Neuroscience). Karina is currently a Senior Research Fellow at the University of Melbourne in the Department of Surgery (Otolaryngology), where she is head of the Hearing Neurosciences lab. Her lab examines the electrical activity of primary auditory neurons and investigates how these neurons and their ion channels respond to trauma, therapeutic treatments and novel forms of stimulation. Karina is now the Project Leader for the HEARing CRC’s Interface Optimisation and Assessment work.
Who should come: hearing, speech and language researchers and clinicians, cognitive scientists, psychologists, researchers in 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 Thursday 22 June to louise.dodd@mq.edu.au

Reading and Spelling Workshop
2017-06-08 00:00

CCD-KIT MEG Workshop
2017-06-08 00:00

CLaS-CCD Workshop
2017-05-18 00:00

AHH seminar: Novel approaches in age related hearing loss
2017-04-20 00:00
Speaker: Professor Anne Schilder
Date: Tuesday 16 May
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: Hearing loss disables over 360 million people worldwide. Irrespective of its cause and severity, hearing loss can have a large impact on people’s health and well-being. The treatment of hearing loss is currently limited to the use of hearing aids or devices surgically implanted in the middle or inner ear. These devices often perform poorly in noisy environments and can be very costly. It has been estimated that the costs of untreated hearing loss are €213 billion in Europe alone each year.
Damage to the hair cells in the cochlea (“sensorineural hearing loss”) is the major cause of hearing loss acquired later in life. The assumption has long been that sensorineural hearing loss is irreversible because once the hair cells in the cochlea become damaged, they cannot regenerate. However, recent studies in animals with hearing loss have shown that new and functioning hair cells can be generated through local treatment with a gamma-secretase inhibitor and improved hearing.
The REGAIN consortium is in the unique position to take the next crucial step in translation of these findings to the clinic, and test if this treatment is safe and improves hearing in people with sensorineural hearing loss.
REGAIN project website: http://www.regainyourhearing.eu/
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.
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 Thursday May 11 2017 to louise.dodd@mq.edu.au

Teacher Aides Supporting Students who are deaf or hard of ...
2017-04-19 00:00

Exploring Communication Rich Curriculum Strategies for Learners who are Deafblind ...
2017-04-05 00:00

RIDBC Book, Toy and Music Fair
2017-04-04 00:00

Workshop: Assessment and treatment approaches for children with reading and ...
2017-04-02 00:00

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
