Level 1, 16 University Avenue
Macquarie University NSW 2109
Addressing the impacts of adult-onset hearing loss
Our research aims to better understand how hearing problems affect health and social outcomes, and to develop interventions that are acceptable, feasible and scalable.
This program is underpinned by the principles of co-design where we collaborate with key stakeholders to deliver supports that enable adults with hearing loss to optimally participate in their communities and maintain their independence and quality of life.
Learn more about the projects we are undertaking in this area and the research teams involved.
Adult recipients of cochlear implants (ARCHS)
Funded by: Cochlear – Macquarie University Joint Research Fund
The research will examine the life trajectories of adults with a cochlear implant up to 10 years after their implant, consider the nexus of health, social and environmental factors and their influence on outcomes.
Two cohort studies were conducted, one cohort of New South Wales adult residents and one cohort including all adult residents in Australia.
ARCHS aims to:
- identify the number, characteristics and treatment cost of hospital admissions for adults who have received a cochlear implant in New South Wales
- examine the health service use and health outcomes of younger (18 to 64 years) and older adults (65 years and above) who have received a cochlear implant in New South Wales
- compare health and societal outcomes of younger and older adults who received a cochlear implant within Australia
- examine three year pre- and post-cochlear implant hospital service use and treatment costs of adults in New South Wales and also pre and post implant health and social outcomes Australia-wide.
- Isabelle Boisvert
- Dr Reidar Lystad
- Dr Anne McMaugh
- Robyn Cantle Moore – NextSense Institute
- Dr Tolesa Okuba
- Dr Ramya Walsan
Contact: r.mitchell@mq.edu.au
We have also involved two adult consumers in the research: Peter Wolnizer and Cassidy Chow.
Australian Eye and Ear Health Survey (AEEHS)
Funded by: The Martin Lee Centre for Innovations in Hearing Health
The Australian Eye and Ear Health Survey (AEEHS) will examine close to 5000 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and non-Aboriginal Australians over a period of two years.
The study follows the National Eye Health Survey conducted in 2015–16 and aims to establish a time series for the purposes of trend analysis in changes in eye diseases.
The survey is a cross-sectional study across 30 nation-wide sites, intended to document the prevalence of vision and hearing impairment among:
- 1750 Indigenous Australians
- 3250 non-Indigenous Australians.
The hearing component of the study is likely to:
- fulfil several of the key priorities and actions outlined in Australian Government’s Roadmap for Hearing Health
- inform the development of a national database on hearing loss
- facilitate the standardised national reporting of hearing loss
- assist in the development of a national set of key performance indicators for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander ear and hearing health.
AEEHS investigators
- Professor Paul Mitchell (Primary Investigator) – The Westmead Institute for Medical Research
- Professor Bamini Gopinath – Macquarie University
- Professor Lisa Keay – University of NSW
- Associate Professor Gerald Liew – The Westmead Institute for Medical Research
- Miss Colina Waddell – Brien Holden Foundation
- Mr Tim Fricke – Brien Holden Foundation
- Associate Professor Gian-Luca DiTanna – The George Institute for Public Health.
AEEHS support staff
- Dr Diana Tang (Research Fellow) – Macquarie University
- Ms Oonagh Macken – Macquarie University
- Richard Kha - Macquarie University
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Advisory Committee members
- Associate Professor Kristopher Rallah-Baker
- Lauren Hutchison – Aboriginal Optometrist, Consultant, Brien Holden Foundation
- Nicole Turner – Chairperson, Indigenous Allied Health Australia
- Shaun Tatipata – Owner of Deadly Enterprises, Consultant, Indigenous Eye Health
- Dr Leanne Holt – Pro-Vice Chancellor (Indigenous Strategy) and Adjunct Academic Fellow, Macquarie University
- Kim Gates – Executive Manager of Public Health and Continuous Quality Improvement, ACHWA
- Sowmya Rao – Wide Ear Health Coordinator, VACCHO
- Chris Rektsinis – Eye Health Project Officer, ACHSA
- Samantha Harkus – Principal Audiologist, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Services, Hearing Australia
- Carla Puca – Eye Health Program Officer, AHCWA
- Sharon Hill – Assistant Director Chronic Disease Section, Department of Health
- Jess Styles – Director, Programs NACCHO
- Professor Catherine McMahon – Director HEAR Centre, Macquarie University.
Contact: bamini.gopinath@mq.edu.au
Data analytics for better hearing health care
Full title: Hearing Impairment Data Infrastructure (HEIDI) Study: Data analytics for better hearing health care
Funded by: Cochlear – Macquarie University Joint Research Fund
HEIDI aims to be a national data resource with the potential to change the course of adult-onset hearing loss. Data gathered in the study will be used to reveal a better picture of how hearing-impaired adults navigate the hearing care pathway.
The project aims to:
- generate a centralised repository of heterogeneous datasets providing a comprehensive view of the hearing-impaired patients’ journey
- create decision-support tools that can be integrated into the general practice workflow to motivate GPs and patients to address hearing health.
- Professor Enrico Coiera
- Professor Cath McMahon
- Dr Yvonne Tran
- Professor Shlomo Berkovsky
- Professor Tao Gu
- Professor Rebecca Mitchell
- Dr Jessica Monaghan
- Dr Diana Tang
Contact: yvonne.tran@mq.edu.au
Developing a new quality of life measure for hearing impairment
Funded by: Cochlear – Macquarie University Joint Research Fund
The EQ-5D is one of the most popular instruments to measure health-related quality of life (HRQoL), but it has been criticised for failing to capture important aspects of health, including hearing capability.
This project:
- investigates what constructs the HRQoL of adults with hearing impairment
- develops the hearing “bolt-on” items to the EQ-5D-5L instrument.
- Professor Henry Cutler
- Associate Professor Bonny Parkinson
- Dr Kompal Sinha
- Dr Rajan Sharma
- Professor Piers Dawes – University of Queensland
- Associate-Professor Nan Luo – National University of Singapore
- Fernando Gonzalo – Cochlear Ltd
- Hafsa Quadri – Cochlear Ltd
Contact: yuanyuan.gu@mq.edu.au
Digital Literacy Program Empowering Seniors with Sensory Loss
Funded by: ARC
The WHO estimates the greatest burden of disability among those aged 60+ results from sensory loss (vision and/or hearing loss).
In this digital wave, seniors with sensory loss are severely disadvantaged when accessing and using online services. Existing digital literacy programs do not adequately cater for seniors with sensory loss.
Therefore, the aim of this project is to co-design and develop a digital literacy program that supports and accommodates the needs of seniors with sensory loss and includes training digital mentors to deliver the program.
Members:
- Professor Bamini Gopinath
- Professor Niloufer Selvadurai
- Associate Professor Kompal Sinha
- Dr Diana Tang
- Professor Lisa Keay (UNSW)
- Associate Professor Melanie Ferguson (Curtin University)
- Professor Chyrisse Heine (Federation University Australia)
- Dr Sheela Kumaran (UNSW)
- Richard Scenna (YourLink)
- Dr Caitlin Barr (SoundFair Australia)
- Brendan Lonergan (Hearing Matters Australia)
- Claudia Odello (Meals on Wheels NSW)
- Victor Lee (Communiteer)
- Alison Jones (Collective Leisure)
- Angela Jaeschke (Blind Citizens Australia)
Hear4Health
Funded by: NHMRC
The aim of this study is to co-design an Australian-first online support service for adults with hearing loss. This digital offering will act as a central reference point through which adults with hearing loss can access key information, support, or targeted person-centred interventions leading to improved self-efficacy and self-management of their hearing health.
Project lead: Dr Alicia Zou
Members:
- Professor Bamini Gopinath
- Professor Catherine McMahon
- Professor Kerry Sherman
- Dr Diana Tang
- Professor Andrew Georgiou
- Dr Simon O'Toole
- Associate Professor Annie Lau
- Jessica Turner
- Associate Professor Melanie Ferguson (Curtin University)
- Dr Liz Gill (University of Sydney)
- Associate Professor Payal Mukherjee (University of Wollongong)
- Emeritus Professor Peter Wolnizer (University of Sydney)
- Steve Williamson (Deafness Forum Australia)
- Dr Simon Carlile (Google)
- Dr Zachary Smith (Cochlear)
Contact: alicia.zou@mq.edu.au for more information or to get involved in the project.
Hearing Impairment in Adults: Longitudinal Outcomes Study (HALOS)
Funded by: Cochlear – Macquarie University Joint Research Fund, and the Martin Lee Centre for Innovations in Hearing Health
HALOS is an internationally unique study of 750 adults aged 40 years and over with hearing loss who use cochlear implants and/or hearing aids. HALOS seeks to better understand how existing hearing interventions and technologies address the needs of adults with hearing loss. This study collects data on a broad range of outcomes, including:
- functional
- health
- hearing related measures
- psychosocial.
Data from HALOS will advance our understanding of the benefits of hearing interventions in adults. Research outcomes can help:
- improve delivery of hearing health services
- inform clinical practice
- inform policy.
Chief investigator: Professor Bamini Gopinath
Project coordinator: Jessica Turner
Research Assistant: Dominic Sepulveda
PhD candidates:
- Shermin Lim (Flinders University)
- Mohammad Nure Alam (Macquarie University)
Co-investigators:
- Professor Janaki Amin
- Professor Jeffrey Braithwaite
- Associate Professor Jorg Buchholz
- Dr Mariano Cabezas
- Associate Professor Angela D'Rozario
- Professor Patrick Garcia
- Dr Heivet Hernandez-Perez
- Stephen Kleinberg (Cochlear)
- Professor Gregory Leigh
- Professor David McAlpine
- Professor Cath McMahon
- Professor Rebecca Mitchell
- Associate Professor Craig Phillips
- Professor Frances Rapport
- Professor Kerry Sherman
- Associate Professor Kompal Sinha
- Dr Diana Tang
- Professor Viviana Wuthrich
- Dr Alicia Zou.
Movement, Interaction and Nutrition for Greater Lifestyles in the Elderly (MINGLE)
Funded by: Macular Disease Foundation Australia
We aim to develop and evaluate the MINGLE intervention to reduce feelings of loneliness and social isolation among older adults with vision loss due to macular disease.
Delivered virtually over Zoom by an accredited exercise physiologist, the MINGLE intervention involves small group sessions incorporating:
- socialisation
- physical activity
- nutrition and health education.
Project lead: Dr Diana Tang
Members:
- Nick Bender (Walk+Talk Community Interest Company)
- Professor Baminin Gopinath
- Associate Professor Charlotte Jones (University of British Columbia)
- Shermin Lim (Flinders University)
- Dr Rona Macniven
Contact: mimansa.thakore@mq.edu.au for more information or to get involved in the program.
Profiling hearing loss among cochlear implant recipients
Funded by: Cochlear – Macquarie University Joint Research Fund
We aim to profile hearing loss through uncovering complex structures and relationships hidden within data using specialised statistical modelling.
The project aims to:
- identify the characteristics for hearing loss profiles
- characterise each cochlear implant recipient’s membership in the different hearing loss profiles
- determine whether certain profiles are associated with and affect the long-term outcomes of cochlear implants.
- Professor Bamini Gopinath
- Dr Diana Tang
- Stephen Klineberg – Cochlear Ltd
- Dr Chris James – Université de Toulouse
- Herbert Mauch – Cochlear Ltd
- Dr Zachary Smith – Cochlear Ltd
Contact: yvonne.tran@mq.edu.au
SOUND-BITES
Funded by: Cochlear – Macquarie University Joint Research Fund, NSW Smart Sensing Network (NSSN)
SOUND-BITES will deliver a novel model of hearing care delivered outside of a clinical setting. Together with Meals on Wheels (MoW) NSW, we will co-design and implement a pilot study where MoW volunteers are trained to support clients to take a hearing test using the Sound Scouts app and discuss their test findings.
Common signs of hearing loss and impacts of unaddressed hearing loss will be communicated. Those with suspected hearing loss and potential unmet need (eg not owning a hearing aid and/or cochlear implant, low/no usage of current hearing device), will be referred to GP/audiologist for further assessment.
Members:
- Professor Bamini Gopinath
- Associate Professor Kompal Sinha
- Dr John Newall
- Dr Diana Tang
- Jessica Turner
- Dominque Sepulveda
- Dr Mark Flynn (University of Newcastle, Sound Scouts)
- Claudia Odello (Meals on Wheels NSW)
- Stephen Klineberg (Cochlear)
Contact: jessica.turner@mq.edu.au for more information or to get involved in the project.
Walk, Talk and Listen
Funded by: Macquarie University
We aim to develop and evaluate the Walk, Talk and Listen intervention to reduce feelings of loneliness and social isolation among older adults with hearing loss.
Delivered virtually over Zoom by an accredited exercise physiologist, the Walk, Talk and Listen intervention involves small group sessions incorporating:
- socialisation
- physical activity
- auditory rehabilitation.
Project lead: Dr Diana Tang
Members:
- Dr Fadwa Alnafjan
- Nick Bender (Walk+Talk Community Interest Company)
- Professor Baminin Gopinath
- Associate Professor Carly Johnco
- Associate Professor Charlotte Jones (University of British Columbia)
- Shermin Lim (Flinders University)
- Dr Rona Macniven
- Phillip Nakad
- Dr Yvonne Tran
Contact: mimansa.thakore@mq.edu.au for more information or to get involved in the program.