On Deaf Ears

This episode of On Deaf Ears welcomes Amy Hampson, Research Coordinator in the Department of Otolaryngology at the University of Melbourne to share her findings on speech perception in open plan classrooms for children who deaf and hard-of-hearing. She conducted tests to see how noise affects regular and hard-of-hearing students in this setup. Amy also explores the current education system and its implications on this niche group of learners. ----------------------------------------------------------- HIGHLIGHTS 02:36 What is an open plan classroom and what are their advantages? 09:10 Breakdown of the MDDB Classroom Speech Perception Task experiment 10:59 What were the findings? 16:33 How the findings affect the design of open plan classrooms 20:44 Ideas for hard of hearing students in an open plan classroom ----------------------------------------------------------- REFERENCES MDDB Classroom Speech Perception Task - A speech perception test developed by Dr. Kiri Mealings at the National Acoustic L

In this episode of On Deaf Ears, I chat with Associate Professor Dr. Bryony Nayagam. Bryony holds a teaching and research position at the University of Melbourne where she coordinates subjects for audiology and speech pathology. She also heads the Auditory Neuroscience Unit. I talk with Bryony about the research on finding ways to potentially regenerate the sensory cells of the inner ear using stem cells. Bryony explains matters on disease-modeling, the genetic causes of deafness, cochlear implantation, neurons and denervation. We also tackle the future of this research and how functional recovery in relation to forming new connections and synapses to the brain as its end game, as well as new findings in technology and other studies. --------------- HIGHLIGHTS 2:02 Bryony’s research so far 4:10 What are induced pluripotent stem cells? 11:10 When to implement cell correction? 16:50 Denervation in the cochlea 21:32 Will these therapies take over the clinics?

This episode of On Deaf Ears dives into the effects of hormone levels on auditory function in men and women. Andrea speaks with Senior Lecturer Dr Karolina Kluk-De Kort from the University of Manchester. Andrea and Karolina discuss the various effects of estrogen on women’s hearing and how it relates to natural and sexual selection. They also touch on effects of testosterone as well as the difference in men and women’s hearing in general, and as they age. The episode also tackles tinnitus in relation to hormonal changes. Karolina shares findings in her studies in auditory brain response and talks about her perspectives on hormonal and auditory research, moving forward. --------------- HIGHLIGHTS 1:43 Effects of estrogen 2:33 Tinnitus and do women hear better to potentially find a mate? 6:44 Karolina’s study on tinnitus in women 11:05 What happens as women age? 14:09 Significance of right ear advantage 17:37 Future of hormonal and auditory research

Today's episode of On Deaf Ears centers on the topic of money and how to talk about cost to our clients. Dr. Caitlin Barr, the CEO of Better Hearing, Victoria and a Senior Lecturer in Audiology at the University of Melbourne, shares her expertise on this subject.   Dr. Barr explores the underlying emotions during clinician and client communication, shares real world examples, and provides solutions to improve the current practices to benefit both parties.
 Perhaps most importantly, Dr. Barr also brings up the factors of evidence, bias, and expertise and how these change the nature of  clinician-client conversations.   -------------------------------
 HIGHLIGHTS   04:50 Communicating ideas of money and cost
 06:51 Discussing issues: Emotional undertones and actual prices
 08:47 Showing discomfort: Real world examples
 15:23 Solutions and tips to improve current communications practices
 20:10 Reflections on evidence, bias, and expertise
 ---------------------------------

Professor Amanda Leach from the Menzies School of Health Research talks about the progress of developing vaccines in the fight against otitis media in the Northern Territory.