A special issue of the peer-reviewed journal Trends in Hearing, dedicated to Macquarie University’s Australian Hearing Hub, was published on 28 July. The issue showcased an array of collaborative research from the Australian Hearing Hub, adding a wealth of new findings to the fields of hearing and audiology.

Here are six new facts that the research uncovered, as featured in the special edition…

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1. For those in their forties or fifties the relationship between depression and hearing loss appears to be stronger
   While the researchers haven’t yet pinned down whether this means that people with hearing loss are more likely to get depressed, or if depressed people are more likely to perceive that they have problems with their hearing, it is important that those in this age group, and their audiologists, are aware of the link. The authors of the study suggest that people in this age group should seek intervention early, for hearing loss, depression or both.
2. Children who wear a hearing device and have good language ability may still need some additional help so that they are healthy and happy
   Children with a hearing device who develop good language ability but struggle to listen and communicate, are at greater risk of developing psychosocial problems, such as problems with personal relationships, work, or school. The authors of the study suggest that new interventions need to be developed that focus on improving early social skills for this group of children, as well as improving their ability to listen and communicate at a functional level, to enhance their well-being.
3. Cochlear reimplantation helps people to maintain their hearing health
   85 per cent of people who require cochlear reimplantation – a replacement of their damaged cochlear implant via surgery – regain similar speech recognition scores to what they had before the damage. The findings indicate that cochlear reimplantation helps to improve or maintain a person’s hearing health in the vast majority of cases.
4. Different parts of your brain work overtime when trying to follow a conversation in a loud room
   Researchers have uncovered that the measurable signs of listening effort – pupil dilation and an alpha power change in our brainwaves – may be tapping into separate processes. The research aims to objectively measure listening effort, which is particularly important for hearing impaired children, who may not be able to articulate their listening effort themselves. It’s hoped that by identifying what leads to effortful listening, further health risks such as stress and fatigue, could be prevented by determining the most appropriate intervention.
5. Audiologists count clinical test results and patient preferences as the two most important factors when making a decision about a patient’s care
   This study found that audiologists tend to rank clinical test results and client preferences as the most important factors in their decision-making process when it comes to patient care. Many also said that discussion with colleagues was important in the decision process, whereas information shared at conferences was not as useful to audiologists.
6. Two cochlear implants are better than one when it comes to locating the source of a sound and following a conversation in background chatter
   People who have two cochlear implants, as opposed to just one, can locate the direction of speech and follow a conversation in background chatter with more ease, this study has found. The findings indicate that someone with two cochlear implants is more likely to have an easier time in real-life situations where they are surrounded by multiple sound sources or want to participate in a conversation with multiple people at once.