Research Impact

Researchers at the National Centre for Audiology (NCA) publish in a wide range of journals and areas connected to our common interest areas of hearing, hearing disorders, hearing technologies, and interdisciplinary research and knowledge translation aimed at improving hearing knowledge, research, and practice. In recent years, our researchers have been listed in the top five most productive accredited departments in North America, based on publication rates.

Impact in the Hearing Science and Assessment Cluster

  • Drs. Prudy Allen, Chris Allan, and Vijay Parsa have collaborated to develop a novel iPad-based assessment battery that gamifies language-free tests of auditory processing. The iPad application has been developed, calibrated, validated, and is currently under evaluation in clinical populations in collaboration with the HATO-A lab (ORF funding).
  • Dr. Blake Butler's lab has developed a new program of research on how children who have hearing loss use visual cues during auditory perception. This line of research harnesses his expertise in the cognitive neuroscience of multisensory perception.
  • Drs. Ewan Macpherson, Susan Scollie, Jonathan Vaisberg, and colleagues implemented new methods to let listeners choose their own hearing aid fitting for listening to music. The results will help inform both personalized hearing aid fitting and recommended hearing aid settings for music listening (ORF funding).
  • Drs. David Purcell, Susan Scollie, and Viji Easwar have continued the development of a rapid speech-evoked envelope-following response measure for assessment of brain responses to speech for use with children who wear hearing assistive technology. This important new development is now working within a successful prototype and will undergo clinical evaluation in collaboration with the National Acoustics Laboratories in Australia (NSERC-CIHR CHRP funding).
  • Dr. Susan Stanton's research together with Dr. Terry-Lynn Young and colleagues discovered the first-known causative gene (FOXL1) underlying otosclerosis. Their longstanding collaborations with geneticists and health care researchers at Memorial University led to this important discovery.
  • Dr. Janis Oram has continued to identify brain markers of spoken language development in children using electroencephalography. With Drs. Elaine Kwok, Prudy Allen, and Brian Allman, she discovered that children with weaker language skills show differences in the patterns of their brain's background activity, and with Alyssa Janes and Dr. Marlene Bagatto she is examining the role of brain responses to simple sounds in early language acquisition (ORF and NSERC funding).
  • Dr. Marlene Bagatto rapidly produced and implemented a province-wide modified hearing screening procedure for older infants who missed their hearing screening at birth due to COVID lockdowns.

Impact in the Hearing (re)Habilitation Cluster

  • Dr. Vijay Parsa's program of research in sound quality for assistive technologies has developed new measures of real-world sound quality and listening effort that help us to understand how the speech of those with voice disorders can be measured and evaluated. With Canada's aging population, understanding the interplay between hearing and voice production is important for those with complex disorders of aging, such as Parkinson's disease, that may co-occur with hearing loss (NSERC funding).
  • Dr. Susan Scollie's development of hearing aid prescription algorithms has resulted in sustained worldwide implementation of the trademarked DSL fitting formula for infants, children, and adults, for both air-conduction and bone-anchored hearing aids. Adaptation of DSL occurs in collaboration with colleagues Steve Beaulac, Matt Holden, Bill Hodgetts, and Marlene Bagatto. This software system is transferred to all major manufacturers of hearing aids worldwide. Adaptations of the DSL implementation included the development and validation of software models for vented hearing aid fittings in collaboration with the Ontario-based partner Audioscan and collaborator Paula Folkeard (ORF funding).
  • Drs. Ewan Macpherson, Ioan Curca, Sumit Agrawal, and colleagues investigated the benefits of bilateral cochlear implantation on working memory, extending our understanding of how listening with two ears can provide impacts on not just what people hear but how they use their hearing.
  • Dr. Hasan Saleh, with colleagues Paula Folkeard and Susan Scollie, developed and published a novel patient-oriented assessment of preference for hearing aid features, that is now openly-available for clinical use.
  • Dr. Marlene Bagatto and her team revised a clinical protocol for fitting hearing aids to infants in Ontario which includes the addition of how to fit bone conduction hearing aids to infants and young children.
  • Drs. Sheila Moodie, Danielle Glista, Gail Teachman and colleagues from the organization Hands & Voices conducted research to better understand the experiences of parents raising children with hearing loss who give and receive family-to-family support. Results of this work have positively impacted parents linked with the Hands & Voices organization as well as parents receiving infant hearing services in Canada.
  • Drs. Paula Folkeard and Susan Scollie developed new normative data for aided levels of speech for hearing aids fitted to the DSLv5 adult prescription. These new norms provide good guidance to clinicians and trainees for use in daily practice, and have been implemented for global use by our Ontario-based partner Audioscan (ORF funding).

Impact in the Implementation Cluster

  • Drs. Sumit Agrawal and Hanif Ladak have developed new cochlear imaging and surgical techniques aimed at personalized pitch-normalization mapping of the cochlear implant. This cutting-edge innovation is the result of years of careful imaging and modelling, using resolution that provides globally-leading insight into the microstructure of the inner ear substructures. The implementation of these discoveries is currently in trial, as patients who receive new cochlear implants are provided with traditional versus tonotopic maps. The results will inform us about improve music listening experiences for cochlear implant users.
  • Drs. Sheila Moodie and Danielle Glista, with Western colleagues JB Orange and Robin O’Hagan, have collaborated with Speech-Language & Audiology Canada, Dr. Kathy Pichora-Fuller, and other colleagues, have developed interprofessional curricula to educate students and practising professionals on the foundations for team-based primary care and the roles of audiologists and speech language pathologists in team-based primary care. Funding for this work was provided by the Foundation for Advancing Family Medicine.
  • Dr. Danielle Glista and a team of interprofessional colleagues from Western University developed a preceptor education module entitled “The Virtual Placement” to educate interprofessional trainees, including audiology students learning about virtual care. These are included in the 3rd edition of the online preceptor education program (preceptor.ca). Funding by eCampus Ontario.
  • Dr. Sheila Moodie and a team of interprofessional colleagues from Western University and Fanshawe College co-developed a preceptor education module entitled “Reflective Practice” to education interprofessional trainings, including audiology students learning about reflective practice. These are included in the 3rd edition of the online preceptor education program (preceptor.ca). Funding by eCampus Ontario.
  • Dr. Sheila Moodie with colleagues (U.S. and Canada) have developed a free online tool for clinicians to use to determine unaided speech intelligibility to supplement counseling conversations with families of children with mild hearing loss (see kipagroup.org).
  • With a large group of international researchers, global parents of children who are Deaf or hard of hearing, Deaf leaders, and global educators, Dr. Sheila Moodie participated in the development of the updated international consensus statement for family-centred early intervention for families of children who are Deaf or hard of hearing (FCEI-DHH). The results of this working including eight associated FCEI-DHH papers has been published in a special February 2024 issue of Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education (JDSDE). One of the impactful aims of this work is to produce a consensus statement that provides guidance for established EHDI programs and for EHDI programs being initiated in developing parts of the world.
  • Dr. Danielle Glista together with an international team of colleagues co-produced a call-to-action publication and led a special issue in the International Journal of Audiology on the topic Connected hearing healthcare: From theory to practice.
  • Drs. Vijay Parsa and Susan Scollie, together with NCA engineers and computer scientists Matt Holden and Steve Beaulac collaborated with Ontario-based partner Ahead Simulations, led by alumnus Rob Koch. This work builds upon previous studies in collaboration with Hanif Ladak, Sheila Moodie, Paula Folkeard, and Sumit Agrawal on the use of the CARL manikin in training. With OCI and NSERC support, we developed a sensorized training manikin that can simulate hearing loss for both teaching audiometry and for demonstrating hearing aids. This product (CARL Pro) is now commercially available and in global distribution.

Impact Recognition, Investment, and Awards

2023

  • Sumit Agrawal and Hanif Ladak received a significant donation to fund two research chairs and to advance their program of research in cochlear implantation and hearing restoration. Donated by Med-El corporation, this investment recognizes the innovations the pair have already developed and the positive impact expected for global users of cochlear implants.
  • Leonard Cornelisse was honoured with the William Cole Industry Award. The award is given in recognition of outstanding achievement or contribution within the hearing healthcare industry.
  • Sheila Moodie was honoured with the Antonia Brancia Maxon Award for Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (EHDI) excellence. This award honours the life and work of Dr. Antonia Brancia Maxon to promote effective Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (EHDI) programs for all newborns, infants, and young children.
  • Marlene Bagatto was honoured with the Marion Downs Pediatric Audiology Award. This award is named in honour of Marion Downs, who is widely recognized as North America’s developer of Pediatric Audiology.

2022

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Current Research Projects

Current research projects can be found at Participate in Research. Published research projects can be found at Scholarship@Western.

Clinical Impacts of Our Work

Previous research projects have led to the development of clinical tools and protocols. Information about these projects is listed below.